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# LI BRARY OF COxXGUE SS. I 



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! UNITED STATE.s"Of AMRHICA.t 



THE 



Shadow of the Rock. 



Other religious poems. 



21 




NEW YORK: 
ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH, 

No. 770 Broadway. 

Corner of Ninth Street. 

1866. 







Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1866, by 

ANSON D. F. EANDOPLH, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern 

District of New York. 



JENKINS, PRINTER AND STEREO^ VPEH, 
20 NORTH WJLLIAM ST., N. T. 



s 

^ 



The Poems contained in this Volume have 
been selected from many sources, and, so far as 
known, the names of the authors appended. The 
publisher has designed it as a companion-book to 
The Changed Cross, which has proved so accept- 
able to a large class of Christian readers. 



CONSIDER. 

Consider 
The lilies of the field whose bloom is brief; 

We are as they ; 

Like them we fade away. 
As doth a leaf. 

Consider 
The sparrows of the air of small account ; 

Our God doth view 
Whether they fall or mount — 

He guards us too. 

Consider 
The lilies that do neither spin nor toil. 

Yet are most fair ; 

What profits all this care 
And all this toil ? 

Consider 
The birds that have no barn nor harvest weeks, 

God gives them food ; 
Much more our Father seeks 

To do us good. 

(3'. ROSSETTI. 



THE 

SHADOW OF THE ROCK 



AND OTHER POEMS. 



THE SHADOW OF THE ROCK. 

THE Sbadow of the Rock I 
Stay, Pilgrim, stay I 
Night treads upon the heels of day ; 
There is no other resting-place this way. 
The Rock is near, 
The well is clear — 
Rest in the Shadow of the Rock I 

The Shadow of the Rock ! 
The desert wide 
Lies round thee like a trackless tide, 
In waves of sand forlornly multiplied. 
Tlie sun is gone, 
Thou art alone — 
Rest in the Shadow of the Rock ! 

The Shadow of the Rock ! 
All come alone ; 

(7) 



THE SHADOW OF THE ROCK. 



All, ever since tlie sun hath shone, 

Who trayeled by this road have come alone. 

Be of good cheer — 

A home is here — 
Rest in the Shadow of the Rock ! 

The Shadow of the Rock ! 
Night veils the land ; 
How the palms whisper as tliey stand ! 
How the well tinkles faintly through the sand I 
Cool water take 
Thy thirst to slake — 
Rest in the Shadow of the Rock ! 

The Shadow of the Rock ! 
Abide ! Abide ! 
This Rock moves ever at thy side, 
Pausing to welcome thee at eventide. 
Ages are laid 
Beneath its shade — 
Rest in the Shadow of the Rock 1 

The Shadow of the Rock ! 
Always at hand. 
Unseen it cools the noon-tide land. 
And quells the fire that flickers in the sand. 
It comes in sight 
Only at night — 
Rest in the Shadow of the Rock I 



TEE SEA D W OF TEE ROCK. 9 



The Shadow of the Rock 1 
'Mid skies storm-riven 
\ It gathers shadows out of heaven, 

And holds them o'er us all night cool and even. 
Through the charmed air 
Dew falls not there — 
Rest in the Shadow of the Rock ! 

The Shadow of the Rock I 
To angels' eyes 
This Rock its shadow multiplies, 
And at this hour in countless places lies. 
One Rock, one shade. 
O'er thousands laid — 
Rest in the Shadow of the Rock ! 

The Shadow of the Rock ! 
To weary feet, 
That have been diligent and fleet, 
The sleep is deeper and the shade more sweet. 
O weary, rest ! 
Thou art sore pressed — 
Rest in the Shadow of the Rock ! 

The Shadow of the Rock ! 
Thy bed is made ; 
Crowds of tired souls like thine are laid 
This night beneath the self-same placid shade. 



10 NIGHT SONG. 



They who rest here 
Wake with Heaven near — 
Rest in the Shadow of the Rock ! 

The Shadow of the Rock ! 
Pilgrim ! sleep sound ; 
In night's swift hours with silent bound, 
The Rock will put thee over leagues of ground, 
Gaining more way 
By night than day — 
Rest in the Shadow of the Rock 1 

The Shadow of the Rock ! 
One day of pain, 
Thou scarce wilt hope the Rock to gain, 
Yet there wilt sleep thy last sleep on the plain ; 
And only wake 
In Heaven's daybreak — 
Rest in the Shadow of the Rock ! 

FABER. 



NIGHT SONG. 

HEART, be still ! 
In the darkness of thy woe. 
Bow thee silently and low ; 
Comes to thee whate'er God will ; — 
Be thou still ! 



NIGHT SONG, H 



Be thou stiU ! 
Yainly all thy words are spoken ; 
Till the Word of God hath broken 
Life's dark mysteries— good or ill — 

Be thou still ! 



Sleep thou still ! 
'Tis thy Father's work of grace, 
Wait thou yet before His face, 
He thy sure deliverance will — 

Keep thou still I 

Lord my God ! 
By thy grace, O may I be 
All-submission, silently. 
To the chastenings of thy rod ; 

Lord my God I 

Shepherd, King ! 
From thy fullness, grant to me 
Still, yet fearless faith in Thee, 
Till, from night the day shall spring ! 

Shepherd, King ! 

FROM THE GERMAN. 



12 UPWARD. 



UP WARD! 

UPWARD, wbere the stars are burning, 
Silent, silent in their turning 
Round the neycr-chauging pole ; 
Upward, where the sky is brightest, 
Upward, where the blue is lightest, 
Lift I now my longing soul ! 

Far above that arch of gladness. 
Far beyond those clouds of sadness, 

Are the many mansions fair I 
Far from pain, and sin, and folly, 
In that palace of the holy, 

I would find my mansion there I 

Wliere the glory brightly dwelleth, 
Wliere the ncAv song sweetly smelleth, 

And the discord never comes ; 
Where life's stream is ever laving^ 
And the palm is ever waving — 

That must be the home of homes I 



Where the Lamb on high is seated, 
By ten thousand voices greeted. 
Lord of lords and King of kings I 



EE KNO IJ ^ETII ALL. \ 3 



Son of man, they crown, tliey crown Him ! 
Son of God, they own, they own Him ! 
With His name the palace rings ! 

Blessing, honor, without measure. 
Heavenly riches, earthly treasure, 

Lay we at His blessed feet ! 
Poor the j)raise that now we render ; 
Loud shall be our voices yonder. 

When before His Throne we meet ! 

BONAR. 



HE KNOWETH ALL. 

THE twilight falls, the night is near, 
I fold my work away, 
And kneel to One who bends to hear 
The story of the day. 

The old, old story ; yet I kneel 

To tell it at Thy call ; 
And cares grow lighter as I feel 

That Jesus knows them all. 

Yes, all ! The morning and the night, 

The joy, the grief, the loss, 
The roughened path, the sunbeam bright, 

The hourly thorn and cross. 



14 HOMEWARDS. 



Thou knowest all — I lean my head, 

My weary eyelids close ; 
Content and glad awhile to tread 

This path, since Jesus knows ! 

And He has loved me ! All my heart 
With answering love is stirred, 

And every anguished pain and smart 
Finds healing in the Word. 

So here I lay me down to rest, 

As nightly shadows fall, 
And lean, confiding, on His breast, 

Who knows and pities all ! 



HOME WA R D S! 

DROPPING down the troubled river, 
To the tranquil, tranquil shore ; 
Dropping down the misty river. 
Time's willows-haded river, 

To the spring-embosomed shore ; 
Where the sweet light shineth ever. 
And the sun goes down no more. 
O wondrous, wondrous shore I 

Dropping down the winding river, 
To the wide and welcome sea ; 



HOMEWARDS. 15 

Dropping down the narrow river, 
Man's weary, wayward river, 

To the blue and ample sea ; 
Where no tempest wrecketh ever. 

Where the sky is fair and free ; 

O joyous, joyous sea ! 

Dropping down the noisy river, 

To our peaceful, peaceful home ; 
Dropping down the turbid river, 
Earth's bustling, crowded river, 

To our gentle, gentle home ; 
Where the rough roar riseth never, 

And the vexings cannot come ; 

O loved and longed for home ! 

Dropping down the eddying river. 

With a Helmsman true and tried ; 
Dropping down the perilous river — 
Mortality's dark river. 

With a sure and Heavenly Guide ; 
Even Him who, to deliver 

My soul fi'om death, hath died ; 

O Helmsman, true and tried ! 

Dropping down the rapid river, 

To the dear and deathless land ; 
Dropping down the well-known river, 
Life's swoll'n and rushing river. 



16 THE LOVING CUR 



To the resurrection-land ; 
Where the living, live for ever, 

A.nd the dead have joined the band ; 
O fair and blessed land ! 

BONAR. 



THE LOVING CUP. 

COME, diink ye, drink yc, all, of it, 
Pale children of a King ; 
No poison mingles in the draught. 

So, while ye suffer, sing. 
'Tis Love's own Life hath won it us, 

Christ's lip hath pressed the brim, — 
Come, drink ye, drink ye, all, of it. 
In fellowship with Him ! 

O shun not thou the Loving Cup, 

Nor tremble at its hue ; 
There is no bitter in the bowl. 

But Jesus drank it, too. 
He counts thy teare, and knows thy pain, 

Yea, every woe is weighed ; 
And not a cross He bids thee bear. 

But once on Him was laid. 

Come, drink thou of the Loving Cup ! 

Thou wouldst not pass it by ? 
'Tis kept for every chosen one 

Of God's dear family : 



TEE SINGERS FRIEND. 17 



Nor, unbelieving, tni'n aside ; 

Tiie Lord the cup bestows ; 
And O His face, above thee bent, 

With love and pity glows ! 

Those hands, once bleeding on the Cross, 

Are now outstretched to bless ; 
He draws thee closer to Hi? heart 

For that draught's bitterness ; 
He hears thy faintly-soljbing breath, 

He marks each quivering limb ; 
He drank a cup for thee alone — 

Child ! drink it now with Him. 

Let earth bring forth her bitter herbs, 

Soon all their power shall cease ; 
Come tribulation if it -will. 

With Christ's abidmg Peace. 
I take the cup — the Loving Cup, 

Thrice blessed shall it be ; 
I would not miss one gift, O Lord, 

Thy Blood hath bought for me ! 

ANNA SHIPTON. 



HIE SINNER'S FRIEND. 

OTHOU, the contrite sinner's Friend, 
Who losing, lov'st them to the end, 
On this alone my hopes depend. 
That Thou wilt plead for me ! 



18 THE SINNER'S FRIEND. 



When, weaiy in the Christian race, 
Far-off appears my resting-place, 
And fainting, I mistrust Thy grace — 
Then, Saviour, plead for me ! 

When I have err'd and gone astray 
Afar fi-om Thine and Wisdom's way, 
And see no glimmering guiding ray — 
Still, Saviom', j)lead for me ! 

Wlien Satan, by my sins made bold, 
Strives from Thy cross to loose my hold, 
Then with Thy pitying arms enfold, 
And plead, oh, plead for me ! 

And when my dying hour draws near, 
Darken'd with anguish, guilt, and fear, 
Then to my fainting sight appear, 
Pleading in Heaven for me I 

Wlien the full light of Heavenly day 
Reveals my sins in dread array, 
Say, Thou hast wash'd them all away ; 
Oh, say, Thou plead'st for me ! 

CHARLOTTE ELLIOT. 



THE WAY IS LONG, ETC. 19 



THE WAY IS LONG AND DREARY. 

THE way is long and dreary, 
The path is bleak and bare ; 
Our feet are worn and weary, 

But we will not despair. 
More heavy was Thy burthen. 

More desolate Thy way ; 
O Lamb of God, who takest 
The sin of the world away, 
Have mercy on us ! 

The snov.'S lie thick around us. 

In the dark and gloomy night ; 
And the tempest wails above us, 

And the stars have hid their light. 
But blacker was the darkness 

Round Calvary's Cross that day. 
O Lamb of God, that takest 

The sin of the world away. 
Have mercy on us ! 

Our hearts are faint vnth sorrow, 

Heavy and sad to bear ; 
For we dread the bitter morrow, 

But we will not despair. 



20 THE DEATH OF A BELIEVER. 

Thou knowest all our anguish, 

And Thou wilt bid it cease. 
O Lamb of God I who takest 

The sin of the world away, 
Give us Thy peace ! 

ADELAIDE A. PROCTER. 



THE DEATH OF A BELIEVER. 

THE Ai^ostle slept ; a light shone in the prison ; 
An angel touched his side ; 
" Arise," he said, and quickly he hath risen, 
His fettered anns untied. 

The watchers saw no light at midnight gleaming, 

They heard no sound of feet ; 
The gates fly open, and the saint still dreaming, 

Stands free upon the street. 

So when the Christian's eyelid droops and closes 

In Nature's parting strife, 
A friendly angel stands v/here he reiDoses 

To wake him up to life. 

He gives a gentle blow, and so releases 

The spirit from its clay ; 
From sin's temptations and from life's distresses 

He bids it come away. 



THE DEA IE OF A BELIE VEIL 2 1 



It rises up, and from its darksome mansion 

It takes its silent fliglit, 
And feels its freedom in the Inrge expansion 

Of Heavenly aii* and light. 

Behind, it hears Time's iron gates close faintly ; 

It is now far from them, 
For it has reached the city of the saintly. 

The new Jerusalem ! 

A voice is heard on earth of kinsfolk weeping 

The loss of one they love ; 
But he is gone where the redeemed are keeping 

A festival above. 

The mourners throng the way, and from the 
steeple 

The funeral-bell tolls slow ; 
But on the golden streets the holy people 

Are passing to and fro ; 

And saying, as they meet, " Rejoice ! another 

Long-waited-for is come ; 
The Saviour's heart is glad, a younger brother 

Hath reached the Father's home !" 

JAMES I. BURNS. 



22 EARTH AND HE A VEN. 



EARTH AND HEAVEN. 

THE roseate hues of early dawn, 
The brightness of the day ; 
The crimson of the sunset sky, 

How fast they fade away 1 
Oh, for the pearly gates of Heaven 1 

Oh, for the golden floor I 
Oh, for the Sun of Righteousness, 
That setteth nevermore I 

The brightest hopes we cherish here, 

How fast they tire and faint ; 
How many a spot defiles the rol^e 

That wraps an earthly saint 1 
Oh, for a heart that never sins ! 

Oh, for a soul wash'd white I 
Oh, for a voice to praise our King, 

Nor weai-y day, nor night ! 

Here fiiith is ours, and Heavenly hoiDe, 

And grace to lead us higher ; 
But there are perfectness, and peace. 

Beyond oui- best desii'e. 
Oh, by Thy love, and anguish. Lord, 

And by Thy life laid down, 
Grant that we fall not from Thy grace. 

Nor cast away our crown ! 

MRS. F. C. ALEXANDER. 



UNDERTAKE FOB ME. 23 



UNDERTAKE FOR ME! 

AS those that watch for the day, 
Through the restless night of pain, 
When the first faint streaks of gray 

Bring rest and ease again — 
As they turn their sleepless eyes 

The Eastern sky to see. 
Long hours before sunrise — 
So waiteth my soul for Thee ! 

As those that watch for the day. 

Through the long, long night of grief, 
When the soul can only pray 

That the day may bring relief, — 
When the eyes, with weeping spent, 

No dawn of hope can see, 
But the heart keeps watch intent, — 

So waiteth my soul for Thee ! 

As those that watch for the day. 

Through that deepest night of all. 
When trembling, and sin have sway. 

And the shades of Thy absence fall ; 
As they search through clouds of fear 

The Morning Star to see, 
And the Light of Life appear — 

So waiteth my soul for Thee ! 



24 TEE UIs DISCOVER ED GOUX'IRY. 



As those that watch for tlie day, 

And know that the day will rise, 
Though the weary hours delay, 

As they pass under midnight skies ; 
Though the Sun of Righteousness 

Only Faith's eye can see. 
Because Thou hast promised to bless— 

Lord Jesus, I wait for Thee ! 



THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY. 

COULD we but know 
The land that end sour dark, uncertain travel. 
Where lie those happier hills and meadows low ; 
Ah ! if beyond the spirit^s inmost cavil 

Aught of that country could we surely know, 
Who would not go ? 

Might we but hear 
The hovering angels' high imagined chorus. 

Or catch, betimes, with wakeful eyes and clear, 
One radiant vista of the realm before us — 
With one rapt moment given to see and hear, 
Ah, who would fear ? 

Were we quita sure 

To find the peerless friend who left us lonely, 

Or there, l^y some celestial stream as pure, 



THE ANSWER, 26 



To gaze in eyes that here were loyelit only — 
. This weary mortal coil, were we quite sure, 
Who would endure ? 

Round Tahle. 



THE ANSWER. 

if \VHO would not go " 

I T With buoyant steps, to gain that blessed 
portal, 
Which opens to the land we long to know ? 
Where shall be satisfied the soul's immortal, 
Where we shall drop the wearying and the mo 
In resting so ? 

" Ah, who would fear ?" 
Since, sometimes through the distant pearly por- 
tal, 
Unclosing to some happy soul a-near. 
We catch a gleam of glorious light immortal. 
And strains of heavenly music faintly hear, 
Breathing good cheer ! 

" Who would endure " 
To walk in doubt and darkness with misgiving, 

When He whose tender promises are sure — 
The Crucified, the Lord, the Ever-living — 
Keeps us those " mansions " evermore secure 
By waters pure ? 
3 



26 ^ ^ ^ THERE FEW S'A VED. 



Oil, wondrous land ! 
Fairer than all our spirit's fairest dreaming : 

" Eye hath not seen " — no heart can understand 
The things prepared, the cloudless radiance stream- 
ing. 
How longingly we wait our Lord's command — 
His opening hand ! 

Oh, dear ones there ! 
Whose voices, hushed, have left our pathway 
lonely, 
AVe come, ere long, your blessed home to share ; 
We take the guiding Hand, we trust it only — 
Seeing, by faith, beyond this clouded air. 
That land so fair ! 

J. n. T., IN THE Round Tabic. 



LORD, ARE THERE FEW THAT BE SA VED? 

Tl^HETHER there many be, or few, 
T T Elect the heavenly goal to win, 
Truly, I know not — this I know — 
That none who march with footsteps slow, 
That none who fight with hearts untrue, 
That none who serve with service cold, 
The Eternal City can behold, 
Or enter in. 



ARE THERE FE W SA VED ? 27 



Whether there many be who thrive 

In their vast suit for that vast love, 
Truly, I know not — this I know — 
That love lives not in outward show ; 
That but to seek is not to strive ; 
That thankless praises, empty prayers, 
Can claim no bond, for will of theirs 
His court to move. 

How long the door, unfastened now. 

Shall open by His grace remain. 
Truly, I know not— this I know — 
If once that grace aside He throw, 
No tear, no sigh, no anguished vow. 
Gnashing of teeth, wringing of hands, 
Shall draw the bolts and loose the bands 
Ever again. 

How long His wrath may yet forbear. 

And sheathe His sword, and hide His rod, 
Truly, I know not — this I know — 
He points the arrows of His bow. 
While speed apace that night of fear. 
Of debt unpaid, of work undone, 
Where Mercy, Pardon, Hope is none, 
Laid up with God ! 

From Morni/ig TTiougTits. 



28 LORD, THOU ART MINE! 



LORD, THOU ART MINE! 

LORD, Thou art mine. 
Send help to me ! 
Christ, I am Thine, 
Deliver me ! 
Then shall I praise and sing, 
" My soul, bless thou thy God and King !" 

Mercies are Thine, 

Kemember me ! 

Sad sins are mine. 

Oh, pardon me ! 

Then shall I praise and sing, 

"• My soul, bless thou thy God and King I" 

Goodness is Thine, 

Lord, pity me ! 
Evil is mine. 

Forsake not me I 
Then shall I praise and sing, 
" My soul, l)less thou thy God and King I" 

All light is Thine, 

Oh, shine on me ! 
Darkness is mine, 
Enlighten me ! 
Then shall I praise and sing, 
" My soul, l)less thou thy God and King I" 



WE STOOD BESIDE THE RIVER. 29 



True life is Thine, 

Breathe it on me I 
All death is mine, 
Oh, quicken me ! 
Then shall I praise and sing, 
" My soul, bless thou thy God and King !" 

BONAR. 



WE STOOD BESIDE THE RIVER. 
TIJ'E stood beside the river, 
T T Whence all our souls must go, 
Bearing a loved one in our arms, 
Our hearts repeating the alarms 

That came across the river ; 
And saw the sun decline in mist, 
That rose until her brow it kissed. 
And left it cold as snow. 

Watching beside the river. 
With every ebb and flow, 
Fond hopes within our hearts would sj^ring. 
Until another warning ring 

Came o'er the fearful river. 
We saw the flush, the brightness fade, 
The loving lips look grieved and sadj 

The white hands whiter grow. 

Watching by the river, 

With anguish none can tell ; 
3t- 



30 ^^ STOOD BESIDE THE RIVER. 



And trembling hearts and hands, we strove 
To save the darling of our love 
From going down the river ! 
Oh, powerless, but to weep and pray, 
And grieve for one who, far away, 
Had said his last farewell ! 

Weeping by the river. 

There came a blessed time, 
A solemn calm spread all around, 
Making it seem like holy ground, 

Beside the silent river ! 
The world receding from our eyes. 
Caught gleams of that dear land which lies 

In Canaan's happy clime ! 

And there, beside the river, 

Came lessons strange and sweet, 
The perfect work of patience done, 
The warfare finished, victoiy won 

With weak hands by the river I 
The childlike fear, the clinging love. 
The darkness brightened from above, 

The peace at Jesus' feet ! 

Waiting by the river. 

Through mingled night and day, 
Sweet memories round our hearts we bring, 
Of Jesus' love and Heaven we sing, 



KNEELING AT THE THRESHOLD. 31 



To soothe her by the river ; 
And wept for one whose heart would break, 
Be j)itiful for Jesus' sake, 

Father in heaven, we pray I 

Standing by the river, 
We closed the weaiy eyes. 
In Jesus' arms we laid her down, 
A lovely jewel for His crown. 

He bore her through the river, 
And clothed her in a robe so white, 
Too beautiful for mortal sight, 

And took her to the skies ! 



KNEELING AT THE THRESHOLD. 

I'M kneeling at the threshold, weary, faint, and 
sore ; 
Waiting for the dawning, for the opening of the 

door; 
Waiting till the Master shall bid me rise and 

come, 
To the glory of His presence, to the gladness of 
His home ! 

A weary path I've traveled, 'mid darkness, storm, 

and strife : 
Bearing many a burden, struggling for my life ; 



32 KNEELING AT THE THRESHOLD. 

But now tlie morn is breaking, my toil will soon 

be o'er, 
I'm kneeling at tlie tbresliold, my hand is on the 

door ! 

Methinks I hear the voices of the blessed as they 
stand, 

Singing in the sunshine in the far-off sinless land : 

Oh, would that I were with them, amid their shin- 
ing throng. 

Mingling in their worship, joining in their song ! 

The friends that started with me have entered 

long ago ; 
One by one they left me struggling with the foe ; 
Their pilgrimage was shorter, their triumph surer 

won, 
How lovingly they'll hail me, when all my toil is 

done ! 

With them the blessed angels that know no grief 

or sin, 
I see them by the portals, prepared to let me in. 
O Lord, I wait Thy pleasure ; Thy time and way 

are best ; 
But I'm wasted, worn, and weaiy ; O Father, bid 

mo rest 1 

GUTHRIE. 



GOD TO ORDER ALL THY WAYS. 33 



LEAVE GOD TO ORDER ALL THY WAYS. 

LEAVE God to order all thy ways, 
Aud hope Him, wliate'er betide ; 
Tbou'lt fiud Him in the evil days 

An all-sufficient strength and guide. 
Who trusts in God's unchanging love, 
Builds on the rock that naught can move. 

What can these anxious cares avail — 
These never-ceasing moans and sighs ? 

What can it help us to bewail 
Each painful moment as it flies ? 

Our cross and trials do but press 

The heavier for our Jjitterness. 

Only your restless heart keep still. 
And wait in cheerful hope, content 

To take whate'er His gracious will. 
His all-discerning love, hath sent ; 

Nor doubt our inmost wants are known 

To Him who chose us for His own ! 

He knows when joyful hours are best ; 

He sends them as He sees it rrcet; 
Wlien thou hast borne its fiery test, 

And now art freed from all deceit, 
He comes to thee all unaware, 
And makes thee own His lovana; care. 



34 GLORY m TRIE ULA TION ALSO. 



Nor, in the heat of jjain and fitrife, 

Think God hnth cast thee off unheard ; 

Kor that the man whose prosperous life 
Thou enviest, is of him preferred. 

Time passes, and much change doth bring, 

And sets a bound to everything. 

All are alike before His face : 

'Tis easy to our God most high 
To make the rich man poor and base, 

To give the poor man wealth and joy. 
True wonders still of Him are wrought, 
Who setteth up and brings to naught ! 

Sing, pray, and swerve not from His ways, 
But do thine own part faithfully ; 

Trust His rich ]3romises of grace, 
So shall it be fulfilled in thee : 

God never yet forsook at need 

The soul that trusted Him indeed ! 

GEORGE NEUMARK. 



WE GLORY IN TRIBULATION ALSO. 

U WITHIN this leaf, to every eye 

T T So little worth, doth hidden lie 
Most rare and subtile fragrancy. 
Woulclst thou its secret strength unbind ? 
Crush it, and tliou shalt j^erfume find 
Sweet as Arabia's spicy wind. 



HYMN. 35 



" In tills dull stone so poor, and bare 

Of shape or luster, patient care 

Will find for thee a jewel rare ! 

But first must skillful hands essay, 
' With file antl flint, to clear away 

The film which hides its fire from day. 

'' This leaf! This stone ! It is thy heart ; 
It must be crushed by pain and smart ; 
It must be cleansed by sorrow's art, 
Ere it will yield a fragrance sweet, 
Ere it will shine a jewel meet 
To lay before Thy dear Lord's feet !" 

Romans v. 3. 



H Y M N . 

OHOLY Saviour, Friend unseen, 
The faint, the weak, on Thee may lean ; 
Help me, throughout Life's varying scene, 
By faith to cling to Thee ! 

Blest with communion so Divine, 
Take what Thou wilt, shall I repine. 
When, as the branches to the vine. 
My soul may cling to Thee ? 

Far from her home, fatigued, opprest, 
Here she has found a place of rest, 
An exile still, yet not unblest. 
While she can cling to Thee ! 



36 HYMN. 

Without a murmur I dismiss 
My former dreams of earthly bliss , 
My joy, my recompense be this, 
Each hour to cling to Thee ! 

What though the world deceitful prove, 
And earthly fi-iends and joys remove. 
With 2)atient, uncomplaining love. 
Still would I cling to Thee ! 

Oft when I seem to tread alone 
Some barren waste with thorns o'ergrown, 
A voice of love, in gentlest tone. 
Whispers, " Still cling to Me !" 

Though faith and hope avrhile be tried, 
I ask not, need not, aught beside ; 
How safe, how calm, how natisfied. 
The souls that cling to Thee ! 

They fear not Life's rough storms to brave. 
Since Thou art near, and strong to save ; 
Nor shudder e'en at Death's dark wave, 
Because they cling to Thee ! 

Blest is my lot, whate'er befall ; 
What can disturb me, who appal ; 
While, as my strength, my rock, my all, 
Saviom-, I cling to Thee ! 

CHAIILOTTE ELLIOT. 



" C03IE UNTO ME!'' 37 



''COME UNTO MET 

i RT tliou weary ? Art thou languid ? 
I A. Art thou sore distrest ? 
" Come to Me," saith One, " and coming, 
Be at rest !" 

Hath He marks to lead me to Him, 

If He be my Guide ? 
" In His feet and hands are wound-prints, 
And His side." 

Is there diadem as monarch 

That His brow adorns ? 
" Yea, a crown in very surety, 
But of thorns !" 

If I find Him, if I follow, 

What His guerdon here ? 
" Many a sorrow, many a labor, 
Many a tear." 

If I still hold closely to Him, 

What hath He at last ? 
" Sorrow vanquished, labor ended, 
Jordan past !" 

If I ask Him to receive me, 

Will He say me nay ? 
" Not till earth and not till Heaven 
Pass away !" 
4 



38 THE UNSEEN BATTLE-FIELD. 

Tending, following, keeping, struggling, 

Is He sure to bless ? 
" Angels, martyrs, propliets, pilgrims, 
Answer — Yes !" 

From St. Stephen the Sahaite. 



THE UNSEEN BATTLE-FIELD. 

I'^HERE is an unseen battle-field 
- In every human breast, 
Where two opposing forces meet, 
And where they seldom rest. 

That field is hid from mortal sight, 

'Tis only seen by One, 
AVho knows alone where victoiy lies 

AVhen each day's fight is done. 

One army clusters strong and fierce, 

Their chief of demon form ; 
His brow is like the thunder-cloud. 

His voice the bursting storm. 

His captains. Pride, and Lust, and Hate, 
Whose troops w^atch night and day ; 

Swift to detect the weakest point, 
And thirsting for the fray. 



THE UNSEEN BATTLE-FIELD. 39 



Contending with this mighty force 

Is but a little band ; 
Yet there, with an unquailing front 

Those warriors firmly stand. 

Their leader is of God-like form, 
Of countenance serene ; ' 

And glowing on His naked breast 
A sincfle cross is seen. 



His captains, Faith, and Hope, and Love, 

Point to that wondrous sign ; 
And, gazing on it, all receive 

Strength from a source Divine. 

They feel it speaks a glorious truth, 

A truth as great as sure, 
That, to be victors, they must learn 

To love, confide, endure. 

That faith sublime, in wildest strife. 

Imparts a holy calm ; 
For every deadly blow a shield, 

For every wound a balm. 

And when they win that battle-field, 

Past toil is quite forgot ; 
The plain where caraage once had reigned, 

Become a hallowed spot. 



40 WITHOUT MONEY, ETC. 



The spot where joy of flowers and peace 

Spring from the fertile sod, 
And breathe the perfume of their praise 

On every breeze of God ! 



WITHOUT MONEY AND WITHOUT PRICE. 
AN INVITATION. 

COME to Jesus ! Are you lonely ? 
Solace sweet He will aflbrd. 
Lean on Jesus — Jesus only ! 
Come, and find a loving Lord I 

Are your tnals past the telling ? 

Are your sins as crimson dye ? 
Jesus sees your sad heart swelling, 

'Neath accusing Memory. 

He is waiting— will you leave Him 
Pleading at your heart in vain ? 

He is willing — oh, believe Him ! 
He may never call again. 

He hath never yet forsaken 
One who trusts alone in God ; 

He your life-long debt hath taken, 
And hath paid it with His Blood. 



WITHOUT MONEY, ETC. 41 



From your sins He v/aits to cleanse you — 
You ! the slave by Satan bound ; 

Messages of love He sends you — 
Where can such a Friend be found ? 

Are you sick ? His word can heal you. 

Are you weary with the strife ? 
Are you hungry ? He can fill you 

With the Heavenly Bread of Life ! 

Now I it is the time to try it : 
Test Him by His written Word ; 

Come, for He will ne'er deny it ; 
Come to Christ, the Risen Lord ! 

Do you fear His sharp re23roving 

That you did not go before ; 
That you left Him — so unloving — 

Waiting long time at your door ? 

He will only smile and greet you, 
Chasing shadows from your brow ; 

He will surely run to meet you, 
Saying, " Thou art welcome now !" 

By still waters He will lead you, 
In green pastures you shall rest ; 

And the pierced hands that freed you, 
Bear you on His tender breast. 
4* 



42 LOUD, THOU ART MINE! 

Come, oh, come, this clay, and try it ! 

Jesus' words are proved and true ; 
Take His gift, you cannot buy it — 

He hath waited long for you. 

ANNA SHirTON, 



'^LOOKING UNTO JESUS." 

THOU, Lord, my path shalt choose, 
And my Guide be I 
What sliall I fear to lose 

While I have Thee ? 
This be my portion blest, 
On my Redeemer's breast, 
In peaceful trust to rest : 
He cares for me ! 

Shall, I then, choose my way ? 

Never, oh, no ! 
I, a creature of a day. 

What can I know ? 
What dread perplexity. 
Then would encompass me ; 
Now I can look to Thee, 

Thou orderest so ! 

This lightens every cross, 
Cheers every ill ; 



" LOOKING UNTO JESUS." 43 



Siiflfer I grief or loss, 

It IS Thy will ! 
Who cau make no mistake, 
Chooseth the way I take ; 
He who can ne'er forsake, 

Holds my hand still ! 

Sweet words of peace and love 

Christ whispers me ! 
Bearing my soul above 

Life's troubled sea ! 
This be my portion blest. 
On my Redeemer's breast 
In peaceful trust to rest : 
He cares for me ! 

Christ died my love to win, 

Christ is my tower ! 
He will be with me in 

Each trying hour ! 
He makes the wounded whole, 
He will my heart console, 
He w^ill uphold my soul 

By His own power ! 

To Thee, the only Wise, 

Whatever be, 
I will lift up mine eyes 

Joyful in Thee ! 



44 THE SPIRITUAL TEMPLE. 

This be my portion blest, 
On my Redeemer's breast 
In peaceful trust to rest : 
He cares for me ! 

From the German. 



A 



THE SPIRITUAL TEMPLE. 
ND wliither came these goodly stones 



'Twas Israel's pride to raise ; 
The glory of the former house, 

The joy of ancient days ; 
In purity and strength erect, 

In radiant splendor bright. 
Sparkling with golden beams of noon, 

Or silver smiles of night ? 

From coasts the stately cedar crowns 

Each noble slab was brought. 
In Lebanon's deep quaiTies hewn. 

And on its mountains wrought ; 
There rung the hammer's heavy stroke 

Among the echoing rocks ; 
There chased the chisel's keen, sharp edge, 

The rude, unshapen blocks. 

Thence polished, perfected, complete, 
Each fitted to its j^lace. 



THE SPIRITUAL TEMPLE. 45 



For lofty coping, massive walls, 

Or deep imbedded base — 
They bore them o'er the waves that rolled 

Their billowy swell l^etweeu 
The shores of Tyre's imperial pride, 

And Judah's bills of green. 

With gradual toil the work went on, 

Through days, and months, and years, 
Beneath the Summer's laughing sun. 

And Winter's frozen tears. 
And thus in majesty sublime 

And noiseless pomp it rose — 
Fit dwelling for the God of f)eace ! 

A temple of repose. 

Brethren in Christ, to holier things 

The simple type apply ; 
Our God himself a temple builds, 

Eternal, and on high, 
Of ransomed souls ; their Zion there — 

That world of light and bliss — 
Their Lebanon, the j)lace of toil, 

Of previous moiilding — this ! 

From Nature's quarries, deep and dark, 

With gracious aim He hews 
The stones, the spiritual stones. 

It pleaseth Him to choose. 



46 THE SPIRITUAL TEMPLE, 



Hard, rugged, shapeless at the first, 

Yet destined each to shine — 
Moulded beneath His ]3atient hand — 

In i^urity divine. 

Oh, glorious i3rocess ! see the proud 

Grow lowly, gentle, meek ; 
See floods of unaccustomed tears 

Gush down the hardened cheek : 
Perchance the hammer's heavy stroke 

O'erthrow some idol fond ; 
Perchance the chisel rent in twain 

Some precious, tender bond. 

Behold, he prays ! Whose lips were sealed 

In quiet scorn before, 
Sighs for the closet's holy calm, 

And hails the welcome door. 
Behold, he works for Jesus now. 

Whose days went idly past ; 
Oh, for more mouldings of the Hand 

That works a change so vast ! 

Ye looked on one, a well-wrought stone, 

A saint of God matured. 
What chiselings that heart had felt ! 

What chastening strokes endured ! 



ONL Y OUR LO VE. 47 



But marked ye not that last soft touch 

What perfect grace it gave, 
Ere Jesus bore His servant home 

Across the darksome wave ? 

Home to the place His grace designed 

That chosen soul to fill, 
In the bright temple of the saved. 

Upon His holy hill. 
Home to the noiselessness, the peace 

Of those sweet shrines above, 
Whose stones shall never be displaced — 

Set in redeeming love. 

Lord, chisel, chasten, j)olish us. 

Each blemish wash away ; 
Cleanse us with purifying blood. 

In spotless robes array ; 
And thus, Thine image on us stamped, 

Transport us to the shore 
Where not a stroke is ever felt. 

For none is needed more. 



ONL Y OUR LO VE. 

TO do Thy holy will ; 
. To Ijear Thy cross ; 
To trust Thy mercy still, 
In paia or loss ; 



48 ONLY OVR LOVE. 



Poor gifts are these to bring, 

Dear Lord, to Tliee, 
Who liast done everything 
For me ! 



For Thy beloved Son 

And precious Word ; 
For all Thy goodness done 

On earth, O Lord ! 
For leave that I may live, — 

Blest boon of Thine, — 
What recompense can give 

This heart of mine ? 

What, for Thy glorious earth, — 

Thy stars and flowers ? 
What, for Thy seasons' birth, 

Kind Lord of ours ? 
What, for the gentle ones 

Whose lives I share ? 
For home, and the kindly tones 

Love whispers there ? 

Thou, Who enthroned above 

Dost hear our call, 
Oh, can our faithful love 



Pay Thee for all ? 



m THE CLOSET. 49 

Poor recomj)ense to bring, 

Dear Lord, to Thee, 
Who hast done everything 
For me ! 

GEORGE COOPER. 



IN THE CLOSET. 

THE air is stirred with holy life, 
A.11 earthly thoughts take wing ; 
Hushed be the tumult of my heart, 
1 hear the anjjels sinir. 



Yes ! o'er my bowed and weeping head, 

I feel their waving wings, 
While mercy-drops are falling round. 

Drops from the heavenly springs. 

And softly from the holy haze 
Falls forth the word of cheer : 

" Speak, troubled soul, what is thy need ? 
Jesus Himself is here I" 

" My Lord and God !" my soul replies, 

" I hear Thy gracious call ; 
No need have I, since Thou art here. 

Thou art my all in all ! 
5 



50 ^^'D THEY SHALL SEE HIS FACE. 



" Oh, let me ever here repose 
Upon Thy soothing breast ; 

For now I know how blissfully 
Thy weary ones find rest !" 



D. B. D. 



7/\^ SUFFERING. 

FATHER, Thy will, not mine, be done ; 
So prayed on earth Thy suffering Son : 
So in His name I pray. 
The spirit laints, the flesh is weak, 
Thy help in agony I seek — 
Oh, take this cup away ! 

If such be not Thy sov'reign will, 
Thy wiser purpose then fulfill ; 

My wishes I resign ; 
Into Thy hands my soul commend, 
On Thee for life or death depend ; 

Thy will be done, not mine. 



AXD THEY SHALL SEE HIS FACE. 

WHAT must it be to dwell above. 
At God's right hand, where Jesus reigns, 
Since the sweet earnest of His love 
O'erwhelms us on these dreary plains I 



IjV the other world. 51 



No heart can think, no tongue explain, 
What bliss it is with Christ to reign. 

When sin no more obstructs our sight, 
When sorrow pains our heart no more, 

How shall v/e view the Prince of Light, 
And all His works of grac3 explore ! 

What heights and depths of love Divine 

Will there through endless ages shine I 

Well, He has fixed the happy day 
When the last tears will wet our eyes, 

And Grod shall wipe tears away, 
And fill us with Divine surprise 

To hear His voice, and see His face, 

And feel His infinite embrace ! 

This is the Heaven I long to know ; 

For this, with patience, I would wait. 
Till, weaned from earth and all below, 

I mount to my celestial seat, 
And wave my palm, and wear my crown. 
And, with the elders, cast them down. 

SWAIN. 



7.V THE OTHER WORLD. 

IT lies around us like a cloud — 
A world we do not see ; 

Yet the sweet closing of an eye 
May bring us there to be. 



52 IN TEE OTHER WORLD. 

Its gentle breezes fan our clieek ; 

Amid our worldly cares 
Its gentle voices whisper love, 

And mingle with our prayers. 

Sweet hearts around us throb and beat, 
Sweet helping hands are stirred, 

And palpitates the veil between 
With breathings almost heard. 

The silence— awful, sweet, and calm — 
They have no power to break ; 

For mortal words are not for them 
To utter or partake. 

So thin, so soft, so sweet they glide. 
So near to press they seem — 

They seem to lull us to our rest, 
And melt into our dream. 

And in the hush of rest they bring 

'Tis easy now to see 
How lovely, and hov/ sweet a pass, 

The hour of death may be. 

To close the eye, and close the ear, 
Wrapped in a trance of bliss. 

And gently dream in loving arms 
To swoon to that— from this. 



CHRIST RISEN. 53 



Scarce knowing if we wake or sleep, 

Scarce asking where we are, 
To feel all evil sink away. 

All sorrow and all care. 

Sweet souls around us ! watch us still, 

Press nearer to our side. 
Into our thoughts, into our prayers, 

With gentle helpings glide. 

Let death between us be as naught, 

A dried and vanished stream : 
Your joy be the reality, 

Our suffering life the dream. 

H. BEECHER STOWE. 



CHRIST RISEN. 

THE foe behind, the deep before, 
Our hosts have dared and i^ast the sea 
And Pharoah's warriors strew the shore. 
And Israel's ransomed tribes are free. 
Lift up, lift up your voices now ! 
The whole wide-world rejoices now ! 
The Lord hath triumphed gloriously ! 
The Lord shall reign victoriously ! 
Happy morrow, 
Turning sorrow 

Into peace and mirth ! 



54 OimiST RISEN. 



Bondage ending, 
Love descending 

O'er the earth ! 
Seals assuring, 
Guard's securing ; 

Watch liis earthly prison, 
Seals are shattered, 
Guards are scattered, 

Christ hath risen ! 

No longer must the mourners weep, 

Nor call departed Christians dead ; 
For death is hallowed into sleep 
And ever}^ grave becomes a bed. 

Now once more 

Eden's door 
Open stands to mortal eyes ; 
For Christ hath risen, and men shall rise : 

Now at last, 

Old things past, 
Hope, and joy, and peace begin : 
For Christ hath won, and men shall win. 

It is not exile, rest on high : 

It is not sadness, peace from strife : 

To fall asleep is not to die : 

To dwell v/ith Christ is better life. 



IMMANUEFS LAND. 55 



Where our banner leads us, 

We may safely go : 
Where our Chief precedes us, 

We may face the foe. 
His right arm is o'er us, 

He will guide us through ; 
Christ hath gone before us ; 

Christians ! follow you ! 

JOHN MASON NEALE. 



GLORY DWELLETH IN IMMANUEES 
LAND* 

I. 

THE sands of time are sinking, 
The dawn of Heaven breaks. 
The Summer morn I've sighed for, 
The fair sweet morn, awakes ! 

* Samuel Riitherf<»rd, a man of great learning and talents, was 
first a Professor in the University of Edinburgh, then minister 
of the parish of Anworth, and subsequently Professor of Theo- 
logy at St. Andrew's, in Scotland. At one time he was impris- 
onJd f<n- the name of Jesus. His death-bed was as remarkable 
as his life had been. Some of his dying expressions are pre- 
served by Mr. Fleming in his Fuljillincj of Scripture, who thus 
concludes his narrative : " And thu«, full of the Spirit, yea, as it 
were, overcome with sensible enjoyment, he breathed out hia 
soul, his last words being: 'Glory, glory dwelleth in Imman- 
uel's land I' " 



56 IMMANUEUS LAND. 



Dark, dark hath been the midnight, 
But dayspring is at hand, 

And gloiy— glory dwelleth 
In Immanuel's land. 

II. 
Oh, well it is for ever ! 

Oh, well for evermore ! 
My nest hung in no forest 

Of all this death-doomed shore. 
Yea, let the vain world vanish, 

As from the ship the strand. 
While glory— glory dwelleth 

In Immanuel's land. 

HI. 

There the Red Rose of Sharon 

Unfolds its heartsome bloom, 
And fills the air of Heaven 

With ravishing perfume : 
Oh, to behold it blossom, 

AVhile by its fragrance fanned, 
While glory— glory dwelleth 

In Immanuel's land. 

IV. 

The King there, in His beauty, 
Without a vail, is seen : 



IMMANUEFS LAXD. 57 



It were a well-spent journey, 

Thougli seven deaths lay between. 

The Lamb, with His foir army, 
Doth on Mount Zion stand, 

And glory — glory dwelleth 
In Immanuel's land. 



V. 

Oh, Christ He is the Fountain, 

The dee J) sweet well of love ! 
The streams on earth I've tasted, 

More deep I'll drink alcove : 
There, to an ocean fulness. 

His mercy doth exjDand, 
And glory — glory dwelleth 

In Immanuel's land. 



VI. 

E'en Anworth was not heaven — 

E'en preaching was not Christ ; 
And in my sea-beat prison 

My Lord and I held tryst : 
And aye my murkiest storm-cloud 

Was by a rainbow spanned. 
Caught from the glory dwelling 

In Immanuel's land. 



68 IMMANUEUS LAND. 



VII. 

But that He built a heaven 

Of His surpassing love, 
A little New Jerusalem, 

Like to the one above — 
" Lord, take me o'er the water," 

Had been my loud demand ; 
" Take me to love's own country. 

Unto Immanuel's land." 

VIII. 

But flowers need night's cool darkness, 

The moonlight and the dew ; 
So Christ, from one who loved it. 

His shining oft Avithdrew : 
And then, for cause of absence. 

My troubled soul I scanned — 
But glory, shadeless, shineth 

In Immanuel's land. 

IX. 

The little birds at Anworth 

I used to count them blest — 
Now, beside happier altars 

I go to build my nest : 
O'er these there broods no silence, 

No graves around them stand ; 
For glory, deathless, dwelleth 

In Immanuel's land. 



IMMANUEUS LAND. 59 



Fair Anworth by the Sol way, 

To me thou still art dear ! 
E'en from the verge of Heaven 

I drop for thee a tear. 
Oh, if one soul from Anworth 

Meet me at God's right hand. 
My heaven will be tp/o heavens 

In Immanuel's land. 

XI. 

I've wi-estled on toward Heaven, 

'Gainst storm, and wind, and tide 
Now, like a weary traveler. 

That leaneth on his guide. 
Amid the shades of evening, 

While sinks life's lingering sand, 
I hail the glory dawning 

From Immanuel's land. 

XII. 

Deep waters crossed life's pathway, 

The hedge of thorns was sharp : 
Now, these lie all behind me — 

Oh, for a well-tuned harp ! 
Oh, to join Hallelujah 

With yon triumphant band, 
Who sing, where glory dwelleth, 

In Immanuel's land. 



60 IMMANUEUS LAND. 



xni. 
Witli mercy and with judgment 

My web of time He wove, 
And aye the dews of sorrow 

Were lustered with His love : 
I'll bless the Hand that guided, 

I'll bless the Heart that planned, 
When throned where glory dwelleth, 

In Immanuel's land. 

xrv. 

Soon shall the cup of glory 

Wash down earth's bitterest woes, 
Soon shall the desert's brier 

Break into Eden's rose ; 
The curse shall change to blessing — 

The name on earth that's banned, 
Be graven on the white stone 

In Immanuel's land. 

XV. 

Oh, I am my Beloved's, 

And my Beloved is mine I 
He brings a poor vile sinner 

Into His " house of wine !" 
I stand upon His merit, 

I know no safer stand. 
Not e'en where glory dwelleth 

In Immanuel's land. 



IMMANUEFS LAND. 61 



XYI. 

I sliall sleep sound in Jesus, 

Filled witli His likeness rise, 
To live and to adore Him, 

To see Him vtitli tliese eyes : 
'Tween me and resurrection 

But Paradise doth stand ; 
Then— then for glory dwelling. 

In Immanuel's land. 

XVII. 

The bride eyes not her garments, 

But her dear bndegroom's face ; 
I will not gaze at glory. 

But on my King of Grace — 
Not at the crown He giveth, 

But on His pierced hand : 
The Lamb is all the glory 

Of Immanuel's land. 

XVIII. 

I have borne scorn and hatred, 

I have borne wrong and shame 
Earth's proud ones have reproached me, 

For Christ's thrice-blessed name : 
Where God's seal set the fairest. 

They've stamped their foulest brand ; 
But judgment shiaes like noonday 

In Immanuel's land. 
6 



62 S UREL Y I COME Q UIORL Y. 



SURELY I COME QUICKLY 







Comes the reddening dawn of day ; 
Rise, my soul, from sleep awaking, 
Rise and sing, and watcli, and pray, — • 

'Tis tliy Saviour, 
On His bright returning way. 

O Thou long-expected, weary 
Waits my anxious soul for Thee I 

Life is dark, and earth is dreary. 
Where Thy light I do not see. 

O my ISaviour, 
When wilt Thou return to me ! 

Long, too long, in sin and sadness. 
Far away from Thee I pine ; 

When, oh, when shall I the gladness 
Of Thy Spirit iccl in mine ! 

O my Stiviour, 
When shall I be wholly Thine ! 

Heaven is my soul's salvation ; 

Spent the night the day at hand ; 
Keep me in my lowly station. 

Watching for Thee, till I stand, 
O my Saviour, 

In Thy bright and promised land ! 



" HE GOETH BEFORE THEMr 63 

Witli my lamp well trimmed and burning, 
Swift to hear, and slow to roam, 

Watching for Thy glad returning, 
To restore me to my home. 
Come, my Saviour — 
O my Saviour, quickly come ! 



''BE GOETH BEFORE THE Mr 

THE winds blow fierce across the barren wild ; 
The storm-clouds gather darkly on our way ; 
'Tis cold ! But, oh, that loving face and mild, 

Which goes before ! there first the shadows stay ; 
And tempests reach Him first, our Shepherd there : 
What He endures shall we complain to bear ? 

The night comes on— 'tis dark ! the stars are dim, 
We cannot see the way ! But, oh, that form 

Which goes before ! the night comes //w^ to Him ; 
And darkness first is His,— as was the storm ! 

Shall we shrink back, or tremble to go on. 

Where He, our Shepherd, first for us hath gone ? 

The way is rough, and wearying steeps arise ; 

And thorns are there to wound our aching feet. 
But, oh, those sacred footsteps, firm and wise, 

Which go before ! they first the roughness meet, 



(34 "/^^' GOETH BEFORE THEM:' 



And briers reach tliem first ! Ob, shall we dread 
To bear His cross— to walk where Le hath led ? 

Tlie stream is reached ; — the river dark and cold ; 

The waves are high ! But, oh, that mighty One, 
Who goes before ! — the billows o'er Ilim rolled ; 

He crossed the waters first, and shall we shun 
The final anguish which our Shepherd bore ? 
His hand shall guide us to the other shore ! 

He goes hefore ! And so we may not look 
Backward at all, but onward evermore ; 

Keeping in sight the blessed path He took, 
Patient to bear each cross He meekly bore ; 

Trusting His wisdom in the darkest hour ; 

O'ercoming every trial through His power ! 

He goes before ! a shield against the storm : 

A shadow in the noon-day, — lights at night ; 
In danger's hour, there is the Shepherd's form 
But just beyond ; though fears may dim our 
sight, 
Oh, earthly flock, fear not forevermore ! 
Where'er we walk, our Shej)herd " goes before." 

J. H. T. 



HIS NAME. 65 



HIS NA ME. 

WONDERFUL ! round whose birth hour 
Prophetic song, miraculous power, 
Cluster and hum, like star and flower. 



Those marvelous rays that at Thy will, 
From the closed Heaven which is so chill 
So passionless, stream'd round Thee still. 



Are but as broken gleams that start, 
O Light of lights, from Thy deep heart, 
Thyself, Thyself, the Wonder art ! 

O Counselor ! four thousand years, 
One question, tremulous with tears, 
One awful question, vexed our peers. 

They ask'd the vault, but no one spoke ; 
They ask'd the depth, no answer woke ; 
They ask'd theii* hearts, that only broke. 

They look'd, and sometimes on the height 
Far off they saw a haze of white. 
That was a storm, but look'd like light. 

The secret of the years is read, 
The' enigma of the quick and dead 
By the cliild-voice interpreted. 
6* 



66 HIS NAME. 

O everlasting Father, God ! 

Sun after sun went down, and trod 

Race after race tlie green earth's sod, 

Till generations seemed to be 
But dead waves of an endless sea. 
But dead leaves from a deathless tree. 

But Thou hast come, and now we know 
Each wave hath an eternal flow. 
Each leaf a lifetime after snow. 

O Prince of Peace ! crown'd, yet discrow^i'd, 
They say no war nor battle's sound 
Was heard the tired world around ; 

They say the hour that Tliou didst come. 
The trumpet's voice was stricken dumb, 
And no one beat the battle-drum. 

Yea, still as life to them that mark. 
Its poor adventure seems a bark. 
Whose track is pale, whose sail is dark ; 

Thou who a:-t Wonderful dost fling 
One ray, till like a sea-bird's wing 
The canvas is a snowy thing,— 



HIS NAME. 



67 



Till the dark boat is tiini'd to gold, 
The simlit-silver'd ocean rolled 
With anthems that are new and old, 

With noble path of luminous ray 
From the boat slanting all the way. 
To the island of undying day. 

And still as clouding questions swarm 
Around our hearts, and dimly form 
Their problems of the mist and stoim ; 

And still as ages fleet, but fraught 
With syllables, whereby is wrought 
The fullness of the Eternal thought ; 

And when not yet in God's sunshine. 
The smoke drifts from the embattled line 
Of warning hearts that would be Thine ! 

We bid our doubts and passions cease, • 
Our restless fears be stilPd with these— 
Counselor, Father, Prince of Peace ! 

REV. WELLIAM ALEXANDER. 



68 TEE E'EN BRINGS A' HAME. 



THE E'EN BRINGS A' HAME. 

UPON tlie hills the wind is sharp and cold, 
The sweet young grasses Avither on the wold, 
And we, O Lord I have wander'd from Thy fold ; 
But evening brings us home. 

Among the mists we stumbled, and the rocks 
Where the brown lichen whitens, and the fox 
"Watches the straggler from the scattered flocks ; 
But evening brings us home. 

The shaqD thorns jDrick us, and our tender feet 
Are cut and bleeding, and the lambs repeat 
Their pitiful complaints — oh, rest is sweet 
When evening brings us home. 

We have been wounded by the hunters' darts; 
Our eyes are very heavy, and our hearts 
Search for Thy coming — when the light departs 
At evening, bring us home. 

The darkness gathers. Through the gloom no star 
Rises to guide us. We have wander'd far — 
Without Thy lamp we know not wdiere we are ; 
At evening bring us home. 



KNOCKING, F.VER KXOCKING. ■ 69 



The clouds are round us, and the snow-drifts 

thicken : 
O Thou, dear Shepherd ! leave us not to sicken 
In the waste night ; our tardy footsteps quicken, 

At eveuino- brino' us home. 



KNOCKING, EVER KNOCKING. 

[Suggested by Hunfs Picture of the " Light of the World."] 

" Behold^ I stand at the door and knock /" 

KNOCKING, knocking, ever knocking ! 
Who is there ? 
'Tis a pilgrim, strange and kingly. 

Never such was seen before ; — 
Ah, sweet soul, for such a wonder 
Undo the door. 

No ! that door is hard to open ; 
Hinges rusty, latch is broken ; 

Bid Him go. 
Wherefore, with that knocking dreary 
Scare the sleep from one so weary ? 

Say Him — no. 

Knocking, knocking, ever knocking ? 

Wnat! Still there? 
Oh, sweet soul, but once behold Him, 
With the gloiy-crowned hair ; 



VO KNOCKING, EVER KNOCKING. 



And those eyes, so strange and tender, 

Waiting- there ; 
Open ! Open ! Once behold Him— 

Him, so fair ! 

Ah, that door ! Why wilt Thou vex me, 

Coming ever to pei-plex me ? 

For the key is stiffly rusty, 

And the bolt is clogg'd and dusty ; 

Many-finger'd ivy vine 

Seals it fast with twist and twine ; 

Weeds of years, and years before, 

Choke the passage of that door. 

Knocking, knocking ! What ? Still knocking 

He still there ? 
What's the hour ? The night is waning — 
In my heart a drear complaining. 

And a chilly, sad uurest ! 
Ah, this knocking ! It disturbs me ! 
Scares my sleep with dreams unblest ! 

Give me rest : 

Rest — ah, rest ! 

Rest, dear soul. He longs to give thee ; 
Thou hast only dream'd of pleasure — 
Dream'd of gifts and golden treasure — 
Dream'd of jewels in thy keeping, 



JACOB'S LADDER. *J\ 



Waked to weariness of weeping ; — 
Open to thy soul's one Lover, 
A.nd tliy niglit of dreams is over, — 
The true gifts He brings have seeming 
More than all thy faded dreaming ! 

Did she open ? Dotli she ? Will she ? 
So, as wondering we behold. 
Grows the picture to a sign. 
Pressed upon your soul and mine ; 
For in every breast tbat livetb 
Is that strange mysterious door ; — 
The forsaken and betangled, 
[vy-gnarled and weed-bejangled, 
Dusty, rusty, and forgotten ; — 
There the pierced hand still knocketh, 
And witli ever patient AV^tcliing, 
With the sad eyes true and tender, 
With the glory-crowned hair, — 
Still a God is waiting there. 

H. BEECHEB, STOWE. 



J A C OB' S LADDER. 

AE ! many a time we look on starlit-nights 
Up to the sky, as Jacob did of old ; 
Look longing up to the' eternal lights, 
To spell their lives of gold. 



72 J^ OOB 'S LADDER. 



But never more, as to the Hebrew boy, 

Each on his way the Angels walk abroad, 
And never more we hear, with awful joy, 
The' audible voice of God. 

Yet, to pure eyes the ladder still is set, 

And Angel visitants still come and go ; 
Many bright messengers are moving yet 
From the dark world l^elow. 

Thoughts, that are surely Faith's outspreading 
wings — 
Prayers of the Church, aye keeping time and 
tryst — 
Heart-wishes, making bee-like murmurings, 
Their flower the Eucharist. 

Spirits elect, through suffering render'd meet 

For those high mansions — from the nurseiy-door 
Briglit babes that seem to climb with clay-cold 
feet, 

Up to the Golden Floor — 

These are the messengers, forever wending 

From earth to Heaven, that faith alone may 
scan ; 
These are the Angels of our God, ascending 
Upon the Son of Man ! 

W. ALEXANDER. 



MAR AIL 73 



MARA H . 

("< OD sends us bitter, tliat the sweet, 
T By aljsence known, may sweeter prove ; 
As dark for liglit, as cold for heat, 
Brings greater love. 

God sends ns bitter, as to show 

He can both sweet and bitter send ; 

That both the might and love we know 

Of our great Friend. 

He sends us bitter, lest too gay 

We wreathe around our heads the rose. 
And count our right, what Heaven each day 
As alma bestow. 

God sends us bitter, lest we fail 

Thnt bitterest Grief aught to prize 
Which did for all the world avail 
In His own eyes. 

God sends us bitter, all our sins 
Embittering ; yet so kindly sends, 
The path that bitterness begins 
In sweetness ends. 
7 



74 MAR AH. 

He sends us bitter, that Heaven's sweet, 
Earth's bitter o'er, may sweeter taste ; 
As Canaan's ground to Israel's feet, 
For that c^reat waste. 



Our passions murmur and rebel, 

But Faith cries out unto the Lord, 
And prayer by patience worketh well 
Its own reward. 

For, if our heart the lesson draws 

Aright, l)y bitter chastening taught. 
To keep His statutes and His laws 
Even as we ought. 

He openeth our eyes to see 

(Eyes that our pride of heart had sea'ld) 
The sweetness of Life's heavenly Tree, 
And orrief is lieal'd. 



And lo ! before us in the way 

We view the fountains and the palms, 
And drink, and pitch our tents, and stay 
Singing sweet psalms. 

CHARLES LAWRENCE FORD 



PER PACEM AD LUCEM. 75 



PER PACEM AD LUCEM. 

I DO not ask, O Lord ! that life may be 
A pleasant road ; 
I do not ask that Thou wouldst take from me 

Aught of its load ; 
I dr) not ask that flowers should always spring 

Beneath my feet ; 
I know too well the poison and the sting 

Of things too sweet. 
For one tliijig only, Lord, dear Lord ! I plead : 

Lead me aright — 
Though strength should falter, and though heart 
should bleed — 

Through Peace to Light. 

I do not ask, O Lord ! that Thou shouldst shed 

Full radiance here ; 
Give but a ray of Peace, that I may tread 

Without a fear, 
I do not ask my cross to understand. 

My way to see, — 
Better in darkness just to feel Thy Hand, 

And follow Thee, 
Joy is like restless day, but Peace Divine 

Like quiet night. 
Lead me, O Lord ! till perfect Day shall shine, 

Through Peace to Light. 

A. A. PROCTOR. 



Y6 " EVEN AS THOU WILT." 



"EVEN AS THOU WILT." 

ii TTAVE mercy on me, Lord !" 

Xl She followed Him, and cried ; and wlien 
there came 
No answer, foUow'd, ciying still the same, — 
" Have mercy on me. Lord !" 

" Send her away,'' they said — 
They who should be disj^ensers of His grace, 
Would have Him turn from her who sought His 
face : 

" Send her away," they said. 

He spoke their thought aloud — 
" It is not meet to take the children's bread 
And cast it to the dogs " — as if He said, 

How poor ye are and proud. 

" Yea, Lord ! and yet the dogs 
Eat of the crumbs that from the children fall," 
She pleaded — " and there is enough for all — 

For children and for dogs." 

And He to her replied, 
" Even as Thou wilt, so be it unto Thee. 
Thy heart the measure of the grace shall be 

From my rich store su^Dplied." 



THE TWO SUNSETS. ^^ 



She had the thing she would — 
Lord ! if I dip my cup into the sea, 
It rises full. Such cup each soul may be, 

Such Ocean is Thy good ! 



N 



THE TWO SUNSETS. 

O bird-song floated downi the hill, 
The tangled bank below was still ; 



No rustle from the birchen stem, 
No ripple from the water's hem. 

The dusk of twilight round us grew, 
We felt the falling of the dew ; 

For, from us, ere the day was done. 
The wooded hills shut out the sun. 

But on the river's farther side, 
We saw the hill-tops glorified : 

A tender glow, exceeding fair, 
A dream of day without its glare. 

With us the damp, the chill, the gloom ; 
With them the sunset's rosy bloom ; 

7* 



78 THE TWO SUNSETS. 



While dark, through willowy vistas -ccU, 
The river rolled in shade between. 

From out the darkness, where we trod, 
We gazed upon those hills of God, 

Whose light seemed not of moon or sun ; 
We spake not, but our thought was one. 

We paused, as if from that bright shore 
Beckoned our dear ones gone before ; 

And stilled our beating hearts to hear 
The voices lost to mortal ear ! 

Sudden our pathway turned from night ; 
The hills swung open to the light ; 

Thro' their green gates the sunshine showed 
A long, slant splendor downward flowed. 

Down glade, and glen, and bank it rolled : 
It bridged the shaded stream with gold. 

And, l)orne on piers of mist, allied 
The shadowy v/itli the sunlit side ! 

*' So," prayed we, " when our feet draw near 
The river, dark with mortal fear, 



WHY DOST THOU WAIT r 79 

And the niglit cometh, chill with dew, 
O Father ! let Thy light break through ! 

So let the hills of doubt divide, 

So. bridge with faith the sunless tide ! 

So let the eyes that fail on earth 
On Thy eternal hills look forth ; 

And, in Thy beckoning angels, know 
The dear ones whom we loved below !" 

JOHN G. WHITTIER. 



WHY DOST THOU WAIT? 

POOR trembling lamb ! Ah, who outside the 
fold 
Has bid thee stand, all weary as thou art ? 
Dangers around thee, and the bitter cold 

Creeping and growing to thine inmost heart ; 
Who bids thee wait till some mysterious feeling, 
Thou know'st not what — j)erchance may never 
know — 
Shall find thee where in darkness thou art kneel- 

And fill thee wnth a rich and wondrous glow 
Of love and faith ; and change to warmth and 
light 
The chill and darkness of thy spirit's night ? 



80 WHY DOST THOU WAlTf 



For miracles like this, who bids tliee wait ? 

Behold, " The Spirit and the Bride say, Come !" 
The tender Shepherd opens wide the gate, 

And in His love would gently lead thee home. 
Why shouldst thou wait ? Long centuries ago, 

Thou timid lamb, the Shepherd paid for thee. 
Thou art Fis own. Wouldst thou His beauty 
know, 

Nor trust the love which yet thou canst not see ? 
Thou hast not learned this lesson to receive ; 

More bless'd are they who see not, yet believe. 

Still dost thou wait for feeling ? Dost thou say, 

" Fain would I love and trust, but hojje is dead ; 
I have no faith, and without faith, who may 

Rest in the blessing which is only shed 
Upon the faithful ? I must stand and wait." 

Not so. The Shepherd does not ask of thee 
Faith in thy faith, but only faith in Him. 

And this He meant in saying, " Come to Me !" 
In light or darkness seek to do His will. 

And leave the work of faith to Jesus still. 

Church Journal. 



THE EVERLASTING MEMORIAL. 81 



THE EVERLASTING 3IEM0RIAL. 

TTP and away, like the dew of the morning, 

U That soars from the earth to its home in the 

sun, — 
So let me steal away, gently and lovingly. 
Only remembered by what I have done. 

My name, and my place, and my tomb all for- 
gotten, 

The brief race of time well and patiently run, 
So let me pass away, peacefully, silently. 

Only remembered by what I have done. 

Gladly away irom this toil would I hasten. 
Up to the crown that for me has been won ; 

Unthought of by man in rewards or in praises, — 
Only remembered by what I have done. 

Up and away, like the odors of sunset, 

That sweeten the twilight as darkness comes 
on ; 

So be my life, — a thing felt but not noticed, 
And I but remembered by what I have done. 

Yes, like the fragrance that wanders in freshness, 
When the flowers that it came irom are closed 
up and gone ; 



82 THE EVERLASTING MEMORIAL. 



So would I be to this world's weary dwellem, 
Only remembered by v/liat I have done. 

Needs there the praise of the love-written record, 

The name and the epitaph graved on the stone ? 

The things we have lived for, — let them be our 

story, 

We ourselves but remembered by what we have 

done. 

I need not be missed, if my life has been bearing 
(As its Summer and Autumn moved silent'y on) 

The bloom, and the fruit, and the seed of its season ; 
I shall still be remembered by what I have done. 

I need not be missed, if another succeed me, 
To reap down those fields which in Spring I 
have sown ; 
lie who plowed mid who sowed is not missed by 
the reaper, 
He is only remembered by what he has done. 

Not myself, but the truth that in life I have 
spoken, 
Not myself, but the seed that in life I have 
sown, 
Shall pass on to ages,— all about me forgottea, 
Save the truth I have spoken, the things I have 
done. 



THE TWO VILLAGES. 



83 



So let my living be, so be my dying ; 

So let my name lie, unblazoned, unknown ; 
Unpraised and unmissed, I shall still be remem- 
bered ; 

Yes,— but remembered by what I have done. 

BONAR, 



THE TWO VILLAGES. 

OVER the river on the hill 
Lieth a village white and still ; 
All around it the forest-trees 
Shiver and whisper in the breeze ; 
Over it sailing shadows go 
Of soaring hawk and screaming crow, 
And mountain grasses, low and sweet, 
Grow in the middle of every street. 

Over the river under the hill 
Another viUage lieth still ; 
There I see in the cloudy night 
Twinkling stars of household light, 
Fires that gleam from the smithy's door, 
Mists that curl on the river's shore ; 
And in the roads no grasses grow, 
For the wheels that hasten to and fro. 

In that village on the hill 

Never is sound of smithy or mill ; 



84 THE WAYSIDE WATCHER. 



The houses are thatcl>ed with grass and flowers, 

Never a clock to tell the hours ; 

The marble doors are always shut ; 

You may not enter at hall or hut ; 

All the village lie asleep ; 

Never a grain to sow or reap ; 

Never in dreams to moan or sigh, 

Silent, and idle, and low they lie. 

In that village under the hill, 
When the night is starry and still, 
Many a weary soul in prayer 
Looks to the other village there. 
And weej^ing and sighing, longs to go 
Up to til at home, from this below ; 
Longs to sleep by the forest wild, 
Whither have banished wife and child, 
And heareth, praying, this answer fall — 
" Patience ! that village shall hold ye all !" 



THE WAYSIDE WATCHER. 

U 4 LL the day you sit here idle, 
ijL And the Master at the door I 

The fields are white to harvest. 
And our labor almost o'er. 

You are dreaming, you are dreaming I 
fast away ; 



TEE WAYSIDE WATCHER. 85 



See ! the eventide is wanirfg, 
Soon shall break eternal day." 

" Brother, my hand is feeble, ' 

My strength is well-nigh spent : 
I saw you all at noon-day. 

And I marked the way ye went. 
I cried, ' God's blessing on them. 

What a favored band they be ! 
But I'll watch upon the highway, 

God may find a work for me.' " 

" Yet you tarry, yet you tarry," 

Said the laborer again, 
" You may idle on the highway, 

And wait all day in vain, 
'Tis easy labor ' waiting ;' 

On the dusty road we tread 
To toil within the vineyard : 

Go out and work instead." 

The watcher smiled and answered, 

" My brother, is it so ? 
Who waiteth on the Master, 

The Master's will shall know. 
He hath taught me one sweet lesson, 

I have learnt it not too late, 
There is service for the feeblest 

That only stand and wait." 
8 



86 THE WAYSIDE WATCHER. 



I sat me by the liecl<?e-row, 

No burden could I bear, 
But I often thought, how bless6d 

In the field to have a share ! 
The loving Master whispered, 

Through the often lonely day, 
" Still wait on Me, thou weak one, 

The lame shall take the prey." 

Not long I tarried watching : 

A wayfarer drew nigh. 
He was weary, sad, and hungry, 

For the glowing sun was high. 
His foot lagged faint and fainter, 

His eyes Nvere downward cast ; 
That laborer l)y my lattice 

At early morn had jjassed. 

I drew him 'neath the trellis 

Of the vine's inviting shade, 
D»wn by the soft green pasture 

Our Shepherd's love hath made. 
I fetched him from the streamlet 

Fresh water for his feet, 
I spread the bread before him, 

And bade him rest and eat. 

He bathed in the bright fountain, 
And then, refreshed and strong. 



THE WAYSIDE WATCHER. 87 

He jouruc'3^ecl on rtyoicing : 

You could liear liis haj^py song. 

Where, on the dusty wayside, 
The traveler had been, 

Stood One, in heavenly beauty, 
With more than regal mien. 

" I thank thee," said the Stranger, 

" For aH thy cares aflbrd. 
For rest, and food, and welcome, 

Beside thy simple board." 
" Nay, Lord," I said, '' what succor 

Have I bestowed on Thee ?" 
" Tliy service to my servant 

Hath all been done to Me." 

Oh, it was well worth watching, 

A Summer's day alone ; 
Well worth the weary waiting. 

To hear His sweet " Well done !" 
Is it too small a matter, 

That in man's foolish pride 
He scorns one heart to gladden 

For which the Saviour died ? 

Oh, ever blessed Master ! 

The harvest-field is fair. 
And Thou hast better servants, 

Than Thy weak one, everywhere. 



88 THE WAYSIDE WATCHER. 



Thou never hast forsaken 
One waiting by the way ; 

Still meet me with a promise, 

That the lame shtill take the prey. 

From the tangled thicket near me 

I heard a mournful cry ; 
A little child had wandered 

From the sunny path hard by : 
His hands were torn with briers, 

His hot tears fell like rain ; 
And he wept, lest he should never 

See his father's face again. 

Close to my heart I drew him, 

And pointed to the sky ; 
I showed him how the dark clouds. 

So slowly sailing by, 
But veiled the bright sun's radiance 

From valley and from hill ; 
For the faithful sun was shining 

In all IiiH glory still ! 

He ceased to weep, and listened ; 

I soothed his childish woe ; 
Then on the way I led him. 

And soon beheld him go 



THE WAYSIDE WATCHER. §9 

Back through the green fields singing : 

Sweet was the joyful sound, 
That told the father's welcome, 

And the little wanderer found ! 



Then on the highway, near me, 

I saw the Stranger stand — 
Stranger no more ! He guided 

The tliir child by the hand, 
" I thank thee," said He softly, 

" Thou hast not watched in vain 
Behold my child returned 

Safe to my arms again." 



What grace is Thine, O Master ! 

For work so poor and scant ; 
How glorious is the guerdon 

My loving Lord doth grant ! 
I only saw a nursling 

Was wandering astray : 
Oh, it is worth cross-bearing 

To wait for Thee one day ! 

Have ye known the shadows darken 
On weaiy nights of pain. 

And hours that seem to lengthen 
Till 'the night comes round again ? 

8* 



90 THE WAYSIDE WATCHER. 

The folded hands seem idle : 
If folded at His word, 

'Tis a holy service, trust me, 
In obedience to the Lord. 



Ye know the joy of labor 

Within the busy field ; 
But there are deeper pleasures 

A faithful heart may yield. 
To willing ones that suffer, 

And listen at His feet, 
From the far-off land God giveth 

Tlie fruit of life to eat. 

Brief is my hour of labor : 

My Lord my lot hath cast ; 
He giveth royal wages 

To the first-called as the last. 
1 have seen Him in His beauty, 

While waiting here alone — 
I know Him ever near me. 

For He cannot leave His own. 

None e'er shall lack a service, 
Who only seek His will ; 

And He doth teach His children 
To suffer and be still. 



CAST D WN B UT NO T DESTR TED. 9 1 



In love's deep fount of treasures 
Such precious things are stored, 

Laid up for you, O blessed 
That wait upon the Lord ! 

ANNA SHIPTO: 



CAST DOWN BUT XOT DESTROYED. 

MUCH have I borne, but not as I should bear ; 
The proud will unsubdued, the formal prayer, 
Tell me Thou yet vrilt chide. Thou canst not spare, 

O Lord, Thy chastening rod ! 
O help me, Father ! for my sinful heart 
Back from this discipline of grief would start, 
Unmindful of His sorer, deeper smart. 
Who died for me, my God ! 

Yet if each wish denied, each woe and pain. 
Break but some link of that oppressive chain 
Which binds us still to earth, and leaves a stain 

Thou only canst remove — 
Til en am I blest — oh, bliss from man concealed ! 
If here to Christ, the weak one's tower and shield, 
My heart through sorrow be set free to yield 

A service of deep love. F. f. 



92 ABOUNDING IN HOPE. 



ABOUNDING IN HOPE. 

HOPE, Christian soul ! in every stage 
Of this, thine earthly pilgrimage, 
Let heavenly joy thy thoughts engage — 
Abound in hope. 



Hope ! though thy lot be want and vroe, 
Though hate's rude storms against thee blow, 
Thy Saviour's lot was such below — 
Abound in hope. 

Hope ! for to all who meekly bear 
His cross. He gives His crown to wear ; 
Abasement here is glory there — 
Abound in hope. 

Hope ! though thy dear ones round thee die, 
Behold with Faith's illumined eye 
Their deathless home beyond the sky — 
Abound in hope. 

Hope ! for upon that happy shore 
Sorrow and sighing will be o'er. 
And friends shall meet to part no more — 
Abound in liope. 



''HE GIVETIl SONGS IN THE NIGHTS 93 



Hoj^e through the watches of the night : 
Hope till the morrow bring the light : 
Hoije till thy faith be lost in sight — 
Abound in hope. 

KENNEDY. 



HE GIVETH SONGS IN THE NIGHT.' 

Tl.^E praise Thee oft for hours of bliss, 
T T For days of quiet rer.t ; 
But, oh, how seldom do we feel 
That pain and tears are best ! 



We praise Thee for the shining sun, 
For kind and gladsome ways : 

When shall we learn, O Lord ! to sing 
Through weary nights and days. 

We praise Thee when our path is plain 
And smooth beneath our feet ; 

But fain would learn to welcome pain, 
And call the bitter sweet. 

When rises first the blush of hope, 

Our hearts begin to sing ; 
But surely not for this alone 

Should we our gladness bring. 



94 " JiE GIVETH SONGS IN 7TIE NIGHT: 



Are tliere no hours of conflict fierce, 

No weary toils and pains. 
No watcliings, and no bitterness, 

That bring their blessed gains ? 

That bring their blessed gains full well, 

In truer faith and love, 
And patience sweat, and gentleness. 

From our dear Home above ! 

Teach Thou our weak and v»\andcring hearts 

Aright to read Thy way, — 
That Thou with loving hand dost trace 

Our history every day. 

Then every thorny crown of care 

Worn well in patience now. 
Shall grow a glorious diadem 

Upon the faithful brow ; 

And every word of grief shall change 

And wave a blessed flower. 
And lift its face beneath our feet 

To bless us every hour ; 

And Sorrow's face shall be unveiled, 

And we at last shall see 
Her eyes are eyes of tenderness. 

Her speech but echoes Thee ! 

JOHN TAGIR nOPPS. 



NEAREST AND DEAREST. 95 



NEAREST AND DEAREST. 

IT was the Sabbath's blessed evening hour, 
And the dusk stillness of the fire-lit room 
Fell on the spirit with a soothing power, 

A spell of holy calm unmixed with gloom. 
The fire-light flickered upon steadfiist eyes, 

Brows where the Prince of Peace his seal had set, 
And tremulous lips where echoes of the skies. 
Most eloquent in silence, lingered yet. 

At length the musing of one heart found way ; 

" Oh, it is bliss !" she said, " to join the throng 
That fills God's temple on His holy day. 

With the full harmony of sacred song. 
Surely the soul draws nearest to Him there, 

And bows with holiest awe before His throne ; 
Surely the highest bliss of faith and i^rayer 

Is found within those sacred courts alone !'' 

" Nay," said another, " not alone ! Our Lord 
Dwells not in temples made with hands. He 
fills 

The lone heights of the everlasting hills, 

And dwells with all who tremble at His word ! 

And I have felt His blessed presence more, 

And owned with lowlier awe its hallowing sway 



96 NEAREST AND DEAREST. 

On the lone hill-side or the wave-washed shore, 
Than even in His house of prayer to-day." 

Then spake a third — " Oh, friends, fall well I know 

The joys ye speak of; but one dearer far 
Comes to me often in the ceaseless flow 

Of week-day cares, amid earth's din and jar, 
When for a moment's breathing-time I pause, 

Saying, ' O Master, bless,' and lo ! the while, 
He stands beside me, and my spirit draws 

A heaven of rest, and gladness from His smile." 

She ceased, and then one answered yet again — 

" Yea, it is always bliss to feel Him near 
In crowd, or solitude, or sacred fane. 

But never is His presence half so dear 
As when the storms of sorrow o'er us meet, 

And we with bleeding heart and baffled will, 
' Faint yet pursuing ' struggle to His feet, 

And lay our souls before Him, and are still." 

Then all were silent, and my heart said^ " Yea, 
Thou hast well spoken, thou dost well to prize, 

Higher than any bliss beneath the skies. 

The faith that clings and trusts him ' though he 
slay.' 

This is the one note in the song of praise. 
Rolling frcni all creation round the throne. 



WEEP. NOT FOR HER ! 97 



That only Imman hearts sore tried can raise, 
And even they in this brief life alone." a. 



y\ 



WEEP NOT FOR HER! 

TEEP not for her, for she hath crossed the 

river, 

We almost saw Him meet her on the shore, 
And lead her through the golden gates, where 
never 
Sorrow or death can. enter any more. 

Weep not for her, that she hath reached before us 
The safe, warm shelter of her long-loved home ; 

Weep not for her, she may be bending o'er us, 
In quiet wonder when we too shall come. 

Weep not for her ; think how she may be kneeling 
Gazing her fill upon the- Master's face ; 

A loving, humble smile, but half revealing 
The perfect peace she feels in Mary's place. 

But weep for those round whom the fight is 
tliron<?ins:, 
Who still must buckle heavy armour on. 
Who dare not pray for rest, though sore their 
longing. 
Till all the weary working day be done. 
9 



98 ^N OPEN DOOM, 

And pray for tliem, that tliey, though sad and 
l6nely, 

May still with patience bear the cross He sends, 
And learn that tears, and wounds, and losses, only 

Make jDeace the sweeter when the warfare ends. 



AN OPEN B OR. 

OH, never say that the door is shut 
To any watcher weary of sin ! 
Thou knowest who said, and who says it still, 

" Ye weary and troubled to rest come in." 
We may stand without till He says, "• Too late," 
But God's is never a fast shut gate. 

And though we have often refused to come, 
And chosen to wander alone in the night. 

He follows us home, and at our shut door 
He knocks, and offers us love and light ; 

And He says to each, '' Thou rebellious child, 

1 beseech thee this night to be reconciled !" 

And we answer, " O Christ ! it is cold and dark, 
And I long to be warm, and safe, and free, 

But Satan has bound me and locked the door, 
And he holds me back when I touch the key ; 

He told me once that my home was bright, 

But now I feel it is always night." 



AN OPEN DOOR. 99 

And we hear a Voics, though the door is shut, 
We can catch the words though the wind is high, 

As the Holy Spirit unlocks the door, 
And Jesus enters and says, '• 'Tis I !" 

And straightway our fetters broken fall, 

And we know that our Saviour has done it all. 

Then never say that his door shut — 

He loved us before we had heard his name ; 

He offered us pardon, and hope, and Heaven, 
And if we refused it, is Christ to blame ? 

If in unbelief we shut the gate, 

Can we say that Christ has made us wait ? 

And He knew we were cold and hungry too. 
So He begged us to come, and be warmed, and 
fed. 
But we passed, and knocked at another door. 
And they gave us a stone when we asked for 
bread ; 
Yet we said, " No, Lord ! we will keep our sin. 
Though Thy door is wide, and there's joy within." 

But He waited still, though we passed Him by ; 

And when all false lights had grown dim He 
came — 
He made us willing to hear His voice. 

And 'twas He that taught us to love His name ; 



100 ''SORROWING YET rejoicing: 



And He brings a light that no shade can dim, 
When He dwells in us, and we in Him. A. A, 



SORROWING YET ALWAYS REJOICINGJ' 

VTO sorrow is unmingled here, 
ly. But still, in every bitter cup 

Is found the sweet ingredient, hope ; 
Who dee23est drinks shall find it there. 

Shall find it when he needs it most ; 

For when the night doth darkest grow, 

Darkness above, all dark below. 
And faith and hope are all but lost. 

How oft a gleam of glory sent 

Straight through the deepest, darkest night, 
Has filled the soul with heavenly light, 

With holy peace and sweet content ! 

Content to wait the will of God, 
To cast on Him the heavy load, 
To walk with Him the weary road 

With patience, leaning on ihe Lord. 

Content to suffer and be still. 

Without complaining bear tbe cross. 



« SORRO WING YET REJOIGimr iqx 

Endure the jjain, accept the loss, 
Of all earth's treasures, if God will. 

Content to learn by suffering long, 
In darkness still to keep the faith ; 
Still trusting what the Saviour saith, 

That pejfect weakness may be strong. 

Content to follow where He trod. 
The Man of griefs who came to lead, 
Themselves, like Him, all perfected 

Through suffering, many sons to God. 

Yes ! there was one, and only one, 

Unmingled cup of bitterness ; 

But God, who pitied our distress, 
Gave it to His beloved Son. 

He drank it with the bitter cry, 

" O Father ! if it so may be, 

I pray Thee let it pass from me ; 
Yet be it as Thou wilt, not I." 



Hadst thou, my soul, been there alone, 
Thou couldst n:)t, if, like Him oppressed, 
That cup had to thy lips been pressed, 

Have said with Him, " Tiiy will be done !" 
9* 



102 '' SORBOWING YET REJOICING: 



Yet from that cup all sweetness flows, 
All joy of life, all hope of heaven, 
All grace and consolidation given 

To suiferers in a world of woes. 

Yes ! and to Him w^ho drank that cup 
In meek submission, though untold 
Its agony ; who can unfold 

Its sweetness now, as lifted up 

Far above powers of Earth or Heaven, 
He sees the fruit His anguish bore ; 
He sees the world all dead before. 

Live in the life He thus hath given ? 

And ever as the ages glide 

His tide of joy shall onward roll, 
Till He the travail of his soul 

Shall see, and shall be satisfied. 

So every bitter cup of woe 

Shall yield a blessing at the last. 
And when the bitterness is past, 

With living sweetness overflow. 



H. N. C. 



WAITING FOR SPBmG. 103 



WAITING FOR SPRING. 

WAITING for Spring ! The motlier, watching 
lonely 
By her sick child when all the night is dumb, 
Hearing no sound save his hoarse breathing only, 
Saith, " He will rally when the Sj^ring-days 
come." 

Waiting for Spring ! Ah, me, all natm'e tarries 
As motionless and cold she lies asleep, 

Wrapt in her green pine robe that never varies, 
Wearing out Winter by this southern deep. 

The tints are too unbroken on the bosom 

Of those great woods; we want some light- 
green shoots ; 

We want the white and red acacia blossom, 
The blue life hid in all these russet roots. 

Waiting for Spring ! The hearts of men are 
watching 

Each for some better, brighter, fairer thing ! 
Each ear a distant sound most sweet is catching, 

A herald of the beauty of his spring. 

Waiting for Spring ! The nations in their anger 
Or deadlier tori3or wrapt, look onward, still 



104 WAITIRG FOR SPRING. 



Feel a far hope through all their strife and languor, 
And better spirits in them throb and thrill. 

Waiting for Spring ! Christians are waiting ever, 
Body and soul by sin and pain bowed down ; 

Look for the time when all these clouds shall sever, 
See high above the cross a flowery crown. 

Waiting for Spiing ! Poor hearts ! how oft ye 
weary 

Looking for better things, and grieving much ! 
Earth lieth still, though all her bowers be dreary ; 

She trusts her God, nor thrills but at His touch. 

It must be so — the man, the soul, the nation, 
The mother by her child — we wait, we wait. 

Dreaming out futures ; life is expectation, 
A grub, a root that holds our higher state. 

Waiting for Spring— the germ for its perfection, 
Earth for all charms by light and color given. 

The body for its robe of resurrection, 

Souls for their Saviour, Christians for our Heaven. 
Cecil Francis Alexander. 



WAITING FOB CHRIST. 105 



WAITING FOR CHRIST. 

WE wait for Thee, all glorious One ! 
We look for Thine appearing ; 
We bear Thy name, and on the throne 
We see Thy presence cheering. 
Faith even now 
Uplifts its brow, 
And sees the Lord descending, 
And with Him bliss unending. 

We wait for Thee through days forlorn, 

In patient self-denial ; 
We know that Thou our guilt hath borne 
Upon Thy cross of trial. 
And well may we 
Submit with Thee 
To bear the cross and love it, 
Until Thy hand remove it. 

We wait for Thee ; already Thou 
Hast all our hearts' submission ; 
And though the spirit sees Thee now, 
We long for open vision ; 
When ours shall be 
Sweet rest with Thee, 
And pure, unfading i^leasure, 
And life in endless measure. 



106 TRUST AND BEST. 

We^Tvait for Thee with certain hope — 

The time will soon be over ; 
With childish longing we look up 
Thy glory to discover. 
O bliss ! to share 
Thy triumph there, 
When home, with joy and singing, 
The Lord his saints is bringing. 

FROM THE GERMAN OF HTLLER. 



TRUST AND REST. 

FRET not, poor soul ; while doubt and fear 
Disturb thy breast, 
The pitying angels, who can see 
How vain thy wild regret must be, 
Say, Trust and rest. 

Plan not, nor scheme, but calmly wait ; 

His choice is best ; 
While blind and ening is thy sight, 
His wisdom sees and judges right, 

So trust and rest. 

Strive not, nor struggle ; thy poor might 

Can never wrest 
The meanest thing to serve thy will ; 
All power is His alone ; be still, 

And trust and rest. 



THE HO USE OF GOD. 107 



Desire not ; self-love is strong 

Within tliy breast ; 
And yet He loves tliee better still, 
So let Him do His loving will, 

And trust and rest. 

Wliat dost thou fear ? His vsdsdom reigns 

Su]3reme, confessed ; 
His power is infinite ; His love 
Thy deepest, fondest dreams above. 

So trust and rest. 



THE HOUSE OF GOD. 

ONCE slow and sad the evening fell 
On desert path, on lonely dell. 
As, sad and desolate, 
One laid him down to sleep alone, 
His couch the sand, his pillow stone, 
The morning-tide to wait. 

But gleamed before his dazzled sight 
A radiance more than morning light, 

From opened portals given ; 
And on his charmed ear there rung 
A sound more sweet than matin song — 

The choral hymns of Heaven. 



108 THE no USE OF G OD. 



i 



He saw the glory of that place. 
Whose light is God, the Saviour's face, 

He savr its dwellers fair ; 
And learnt that — desolate, alone, 
A wanderer from his Father's home, — 

God's presence still was there. 

So we (though often worn, oppressed, 
We wander, seeking home and rest) 

In sorrow's darkest hour 
May see, as Jacob saw of old, 
God's sunbeams bright and manifold, 

The shades of night o'eri^ower. 

For not in temple hoar alone, 

In cloistered shade, 'neath sculptured stone, 

Stand now God's house below ; 
But whensoe'er His radiance bright 
Gleams on our darkness and 'tis light, 

His presence we may know. 

Transfigured in His GI017 fair 

The whole earth stands, one house of prayer- 
One ante-room of Heaven ; 

For surely, though we know it not, 

God's presence is in every spot. 
To those who seek it given. 



THE J VD G MENT-St'A T. 109 



Then let us strive, and work, and wait, 
As those who see that opened gate 

That gh)ry in our night ; 
So that at last, through Christ the way. 
We, too, may tread that land of day, 

Where God, the Lord, is light. 



L. E. 



THE CHILD ON THE JUDGMENT-SEAT. 

WHERE hast been toiling all day, sweet-heart, 
That thy brow is burdened and sad ? 
The Master's work may make weary feet, 
But it leaves the spii'it glad. 

Was thy garden nipped with the midnight frost, 
Or scorched with the mid-day glare ? 

Were thy vines laid low, or thy lilies crushed, 
That thy face is so full of care ? 

" No pleasant garden-toils were mine ! — 

I have sate on the judgment-seat, 
Wherb the Master sits at eve and calls 

The children around His feet." 

How camest thou on the judgment-seat, 

Sweet-heart ? Who set thee there ? 
'Tis a lonely and lofty seat for thee, 

And well might fill thee with care. 
10 



1 1 ^^^ JUDGMENT- SEA T. 

" I climbed on the judgment-seat myself, 

I have sate there alone all day, 
For it grieved me to see the children around 

Idling their life away. 

" They wasted the Master's precious seed, 

They wasted the i^recious hours ; 
They trained not the vines, nor gathered the fruits, 

And they trampled the sweet, meek flowers." 

And what hast thou done on the judgment-seat, 
Sweet-heart ? What didst thou there ? 

Would the idlers heed thy childish voice ? 
Did the garden mend by thy care ? 

" Nay, that grieved me more ! I called and I cried, 

But they left me there forlorn ; 
My voice was weak, and they heeded not. 

Or they laughed my words to scorn." 

Ah, the judgment-seat was not for thee ! 

The servants were not thine ! 
And the eyes which adjudge the praise and the 
blame, 

See further than thine or mine. 

The Voice that shall sound there at eve, sweet- 
heart. 
Will not raise its tones to be heard, 



j 



THE JUB G ME NT-SEA T. HI 

It will hush the earth, and hush the hearts, 
And none will resist its word. 

" Should I see the Master's treasures lost, 
The stores that should feed His poor, 

And not lift my voice, be it weak as it may, 
And not be gneved sore ?" 

Wait till the evening falls, sweet heart, 

Wait till the evening falls ; 
The Master is near and knoweth all. 

Wait till the Master calls. 

But how fared thy garden-plot, sweet heart, 
Whilst thou sat'st on the judgment-seat ;' 

AVho watered thy roses and trained thy vines, 
And kept them from careless feet ? 

" Nay, that is saddest of all to me ! 

That is saddest of all ! 
My vines are trailing, my roses are parched. 

My lilies droop and fall." 

Go back to thy garden-plot, sweet heart ! 

Go back till the evening falls ! 
And bind thy lilies, and train thy vines, 

Till for thee the Master calls. 



112 NOW I LAY ME DO WN TO SLEEP, 



Go make thy garden fair as tliou canst, 

Thou workest never alone, 
Perchance he whose plot is next to thine 

Will see it, and mend his own. 

And the next may copy his, sweet heart, 

Till all grows fair and sweet, 
And when the Master comes at eve, 

Happy faces His coming will greet. 

Then shall thy joy be full, sweet heart, 

In the garden so fair to see, 
In the Master's words of praise for all, 

In a look of His own for thee ! 

AUTHOR OF " THE THllEE WAKINGS.' 



NOW I LAY ME DOWN TO SLEEP. 

IN the quiet nursery chaml^ers, 
Snowy pillows yet uni^ressed, 
See the forms of little children 

Kneeling, white-robed, for their rest, 
All in quiet nursery chambers. 

While the dusky shadows creep, 
Hear the voices of the children — 
■ Now I lay me down to sleep." 



J 



NO W I LA Y ME DO WN TO SLEEP. 

In the meadow and the mountain 

Calmly sliine the winter slurs, 
But across the glistening lowlands 

Slants the moonlight's silver bars 
In the silence and the darkness, 

Darkness growing still more deep, 
Listen to the little children 

Praying God their souls to keep. 

" If we die "—so pray the children, 

And the mother's head drops low ; 
(One from out her fold is sleeping 

Deep beneath the winter's snow) ; 
" Take onr souls:" and past the casement 

Flits a gleam of crystal light, 
Like the trailing of his garments, 

Walking evermore in white. 

Little souls that stand expectant, 

Listen at the gates of life ; 
Hearing, faraway, the murmur 

Of the tumult and the strife : 
We, who fight beneath those banners, 

Meeting ranks of foemen there, 
Find a deeper, broader meaning 

In your simple vesper prayer. 

When your hands shall grasp this standard, 
Which to-day you watch from far 
10* ' 



113 



114 THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. 



Wlien your deeds shall shape tlie conflict 

In this universal war, 
Pray to Him, the God of battles, 

Whose strong eye can never sleep, 
In- the warring of temptation, 

Firm and true your souls to keep. 

When the combat ends, and slowly 

Clears the smoke from out the skies, 
Then, far down the purple distance, 

All the noise of l^attle dies. 
When the last night's solemn shadows 

Settle dov/n on you and me. 
May the love that never faileth 

Take our souls eternally. 



I. 

THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. 

PAINTED BY HOLMAN HUNT. 

IN the moonlight, when no murmur fi'om the 
haunts of men is heard, 
And the river in its sleep flows onward, onward 

to the sea, 
And thou sleepest, who art drawing nearer to 

Eternity, 
In the silence and the stillness comes the Word. 



THE LIGHT OP THE WORLD. 115 



And He knocketh at thy portal, but thou dream- 
est in the night 

That the flitting bat is only striking softly 'gainst 
the door ; 

Shall He knock so oft who cometh from the Heav- 
en's eternal shore ? 

Sleeper in the darkness, rise, behold thy Light ! 

'Tis thy Priest and Prophet, clad in jewelled robe 
white attire ; 

Tis thy King, and on His brow He wears the 
thoniy coronal. 

Budding now with amaranthine leaves and flow- 
ers ambrosial, 

In His face is speaking pity, silent ire. 

For His glowing lamp discloseth, choking up thy 

dwelling door, 
Deadly hemlock, barren darnel, prickly bramble, 

withered grasses, 
And the ivy knits it closely to its stanchions and 

passes 
Through the crevices, and hinges, and the floor. 

Let Him in ! for He will sojourn with the. lowest 

and the least, 
And forget that thou didst keep Him waiting in 

the dews and damp, 



116 THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. 



And for guerdon in the valley He will light thee 

with His lamp 
To the happy Shore Eternal and the Marriage 

Feast. 

B. A., Brnficnose College, Oxford. 



THE LIGHT OF THE WOULD. 

LORD, Thou hast sought this wayward heart in 
vain ; 

Choked by the world's vile weeds its portals 
stand, 

Closed to the touch of Thy redeeming Hand, 
Wliich, knocking gently, would an entrance gain ; 
Oh, Love unspeakable ! that Thou shouldst be 

Patient amidst the night's chill falling dews. 

While I Thy profiercd fellowship refuse, 
Slothful to rise and ope the door to Thee ! 
Long have I tarried, dreading yet to bear 

The emblems of Thy suffering, thorns and cross ; 

Lost in idolatry of Mammon's dross. 
And lured by pleasure's transitory glare ; 
Henceforth vouchsafe to shed my light within. 

Illume my soul, and let these contrite tears 

Blot out all record of my mis-spent years, 
Dark v/ith the sad remembrances of sin ; 
Then, in this purified, repentant breast. 
Enter, and be for evermore my Guest ! 

W. R. WEALE. 



II 



HE LEADS 1/>S ON. ^ 1 7 



HE LEADS US ON. 
E leads us on, 
By paths we did not knoV, 
Upward He leads us, tliougli our steps be slow 
Though oft we faint and falter on the way, ' 
Though storms and darkness oft obscure the day, 
Yet when the clouds are gone 
We know He leads us on. 

He leads us on 
Through all the unquiet years ; 
Past all our dreamland hopes, and doubts, and 

fears 

He guides our steps. Through all the tangled 

maze 
Of sin, of sorrow, and o'erclouded days 

We know His will is done ; 

And still He leads us on. 

And He, at last, 
After the weary strife- 
After the restless fever we call life- 
After the di-eariness, the aching pain, 
The wayward struggles which have proved in vain, 

After our toils are past - 

Will give us rest at last. 



118 HOLY GHOST DISPEL OUR SADNESS. 



HOLY GHOST DISPEL OUR SADNESS. 

HOLY GHOST, dispel our sadness, 
PieiKe the clouds of sinful night ; 
Come, Thou source of sweetest gladness, 

Breathe Thy Life, and spread Thy Light ! 
Loving Spirit, God of Peace ! 
Great Distributor of grace ! 
Rest upon this congregation, 
Hear, O hear our supplication ! 

From that height which knows no measure, 

As a gracious shower descend 
Bringing down the richest treasure 

Men can wish, or God can send ! 
O Thou Glory, shining down 
From the Father and the Son, 

Grant us Thy illumination ! 

Rest upon this congregation ! 

Known to Thee are all recesses 
Of the earth and spreading skies ; 

Every sand the shore possesses 
Thy Omniscient Mind descries. 

Holy Fountain ! wash us clean 

Both from error and from sin ! 
Make us fly what Thou refusest. 
And delight in what Thou choosest ! 



ON AFFLICTION. Hg 



Manifest Thy love forever ; 

Fence us in on every side ; 
In distress be our Eeliever, 

Guard and teacli, support and guide ! 
Let Thy kind effectual grace 
Turn our feet from evil ways ; 

Show Thyself our new Creator, 

Ajid conform us t3 Thy nature ! 

Be our Friend on each occasion, 

God ! omnipotent to save ! 
Wlien we die, be our salvation ; 

When we're buried, be our grave ! 
And, when from the grave we rise, 
Take us up above the skies, 

Seat us with tliy saints in gloiy. 

There forever to adore Thee ! 

FROM THE GERMAN BY TOPLADY. 



ON AFFLICTION. 

AS the harp-strings only render 
All their treasures of sweet sound - 
All their music, glad or tender — 
Fu-mly struck and tightly bound : 

So the hearts of Christians owe 
Each itf:- deepest, sweetest strain. 



120 TRUST. 



To the pressure firm of woe, 
And the tension tight of pain. 

Spices crushed theii pungence yield ; 

Trodden scents their sweets respire ; 
Would you have its strength revealed, 

Cast the incense in the fire : 

Thus the crushed and broken frame 

Oft doth sweetest graces yield ; 
And through sufiering, toil, and shame, 
From the martyr's keenest flame, 

Heavenly incense is distilled. 

ADAM, OF ST. VICTOR. 



I 



T R U S T. 

THE child leans on its parent's breast, 
Leaves there its cares, and is at rest ; 
The bird sits singing by its nest, 

And tells aloud 
His trust in God, and so is blest 
'Neath every cloud. 

He hath no store, he sows no seed,' 
Yet sings aloud, and doth not need ; 
By flowing streams or grassy mead, 

He sings to shame 
Men, who forget, in fear of need, 

A Father's name. 



SUBMISSION. 121 



The lieart tliat trusts forever sings, 
And feels as light as it had wings ; 
A well of peace within it springs ; 

Come good or ill, 
Whate'er to-day, to-morrow brings. 

It is His will ! 

ISAAC WILLIAMS. 



SUBMISSION. 

SINCE thy Father's arm sustains thee, 
Peaceful be ; 
When a chastening hand restrains thee, 

It is He ! 
Know His love in full completeness, 
Feel the measure of thy weakness ; 
If He wound thy spirit sore, 

Trust Him more. 

Without mui-mur, uncomplaining. 
In His hand 
Leave whatever things thou canst not 

Understand ; 
Though the world thy folly spumeth. 
From thy faith in pity turneth, 
Peace thy inmost sonl shall fill, 

Lying still. 
11 



122 SUBMISSION. 

Like an infant, if thou tliinkest 

Thou cauHt stand, 
Childlike, proudly pushing back 

The proffersd hand ; 
Courage soon is changed to fear, 
Strength doth feebleness appear ; 
In His love if thou abide. 

He will guide. 

Fearest sometimes that thy Father 
Hath forgot ? 

Though the clouds around thee gather, 
Doubt Ilim not ! 

Always hath the daylight broken, 

Always hath He comfort spoken ; 

Better hath He been for years 

Than thy fears. 

Therefore, whatsoe'er betideth, 
Mghf or day, 

Know His love for thee j^rovideth 
Good alway : 

Crown of sorrows gladly take, 

Grateful merit for His sake ; 

Sweetly bending to His will, 
Lying still. 

To His own thy Saviour giveth 

Daily strength ; 



I 



IS THIS ALL? 123 



To each troubled soul that llveth 
Peace at length : 

Weakest lambs have largest share 

Of the tender Shepherd's care ; 

Ask Him not, then, " When ?" or " How V 
Only bow ! 

S. D. CARTER. 



IS THIS ALL? 

CfOMETIMES I catch sweet glimpses of His fa 

But that is Ml. 
Sometimes He loolcs on me and seems to smile^ 

But that is all. 
Sometimes he speaks a 2)assing word of peace ^ 

But that is all. 
Sometimes I thbik I hear His loving voice 

Upon me call. 

And is this all He meant when thus He spoke : 

" Come unto me ?" 
Is there no deeper, more enduring rest, 

In Him for thee ? 
Is there no steadier light for thee in Him ? 

Oh, come and see ! 



124 IS THIS ALL? 



Oh, come and see ! ob, look, and look again ! 

All shall be right ; 
Oh, taste His love, and see that it is good, 

Thou child of night. 
Oh, trust Him, trust Him in his grace and j)owcr, 

Then all is l^right ! 

Nay, do not wrong Him by thy heavy thoughts, 

But love His love I 
Do thou full justice to His tenderness, 

His mercy prove ; 
Take Him for what He is ; oh, take Him all, 

And look above ! 

Then shall thy tossing soul find anchorage 

And steadfast peace ; 
Thy love shall rest on His ; thy weary doubts 

Forever cease. 
Thy heart shall find in Him, and in His grace, 

Its rest and bliss. 

Christ and His love shall be thy bless6d all 

For evermore ! 
Christ and His light shall shine on all thy ways 

For evermore ! 
Christ and His peace shall keep thy troubled soul 

For evermore ! 

BONAR. 



OPEN THO U OUR EYES. 1 25 



OPEN THOU OUR EYES. 

AND He drew near and talked with them, 
But they perceived Him not ; 
And mourned, unconscious of that light — 
The gloom, the darkness, Imd the night, 
That wrapt His burial spot. 

Wearied with doubt, perplexed and sad, 
They knew nor help, nor guide, 

Wliile He who bore the secret key 

To open every mystery, 

Unknown was by their side. 

Thus often when we feel alone, 

No help nor comfort near, 
'Tis only that our eyes are dim ; 
Doubting and sad, we see not Him 

Who waiteth still to hear. 

" The darkness gathers overhead, 

The mom will never come !" 
Did we but raise our downcast eyes, 
In the wide-flushing eastern skies 

Appears the glowing sun. 

In all our daily joys and griefs 
lu daily work and rest, 
11* 



126 SIFA D WS OF THE PAST, 



To those who seek Him, Christ is near, 
ir bliss to calm, to soothe 
In leaning on our breast. 



Our bliss to calm, to soothe our care, 



Oi^en our eyes, O Lord, we pray, 

To see our way, our Guide ; 
That by the path that here we tread. 
We, following on, may still be led 

In Thy light to abide. l. r. 



SHADOWS OF THE PAST. 

LORD,while the shadows of the past surveying — 
And they are many since life's early mora : 
Life's shadowy days have had a long delaying, 
It matters not, since they are past and gone — 
Are past and gone. 

I find my steps are upward slowly tending, 
That falls the glory of thy smile upon 

The golden flights of steps to heaven ascending, 
And I am journeying slowly toward the dawn — 
Toward the down. 

I find my future in this world of sorrows 
Answers my prayers, and golden visions ope 

Of providences in the bright to-morrows, 
Fulfilling prayer ; this is my only hope — 
My only hope. 



A PRAYER FOR YOU. 127 

This pleasing hope my weary heart inspires, 
For I have prayed, and in Thy Word 'tis writ, 

That they who to give Thee their warm desires, 
Shall walk the ways that they to Thee commit — 
To Thee commit. 



A PRAYER FOR YOU. 

I HA YE a Saviour — He's jDleading in glory — 
So precious, though earthly enjoyments be few; 
And now He's watching in tenderness o'er me ; 
But, oh, that my Saviour was your Saviour too I 
For you I am praying — I'm praying for you ! 

I have a Father— to me He has given 
A hope for eternity, precious and true ; 

And soon will my spirit be with Him in heaven ; 
But, oh, that He'd let me bring you vnth me too ! 
For you I am praying— I'm praying for you ! 

I have a Crown, and I'll wear it forever, 
Encircled with jewels of heavenly hue ; 

'Twas purchased by Jesus, my glorified Saviour ; 
But. oh, could I know one was purchased for 

you! 
For you I am praying — I'm praying for gou ! 

I have a Robe — 'tis resplendent in whiteness — 

Awaiting in glory my wondering view ; 
Oh, when I'll receive it, all shining in brightness, 



128 ^ PRAYER FOR YOU. 



Dear friend, could I see you receiving one too ! 
For you I am j^rayiug — I'm praying for you ! 

I have a Rest— and the earnest is given — 

Though now, for a time, 'tis concealed from my 
view ; 
This life everlasting, 'tis Jesus, 'tis heaven ; 

And, oh, dearest friend, let me meet you there 

too! 
For you I am praying — I'm praying for you I 

I have a Peace, and it's calm as a river — 

A peace that the friend of the world never 
knew; 

My Saviour alone is its Author and Giver ; 
But, oh, could I know it was given to you ! 
For you I am praying — I'm praying for you ! 

For you I am praying— for you I am praying ! 
For you I am praying— for you, yes, for you ! 

And soon shall I hear you rejoicing and saying : 
" Your dear, loving Saviour is my Saviour too !" 
And prayer will be answered for you — yes, for 
you! 

And when He has found you, tell others the story, 

How Jesus extended His mercy to you ; 
Then point them away to the regions of glory. 



HEAR MY CRY! 129 



And pray that your Saviour may bring them 

there too ! 
For prayer will be answered— 'twas answered 

for you ! 

Oh, speak of that Saviour, that Father in heaven ; 

That Harp, Crown, and Robe which are waiting 
for you ! 
That Peace you possess, and that Rest to be given ! 

Still praying that Jesus may save them like you ; 

And prayer will be answered— 'twas answered 

for you ! 

Christian Witness. 



HE A R MY CR Y! 

STRONG to save and bless, 
My rock and righteousness 
Draw near to me ! 
Blessing, and joy, and might, 
Wisdom, and love, and light 
Are all with Thee ! 

My refuge and my rest. 

As child on mother's breast, 

I lean on Thee ! 
From faintness and from fear, 
When foes and ill are near. 

Deliver me I 



130 HEAR MY CRY! 



Turn not away Tliy face, 
Withhold not needed grace, 

My fortress be ! 
Perils are round and round, 
Iniquities abound — 

See, Saviour, see ! 

Come, God and Saviour, come ! 
I can no more be dumb ; 

Appeal I must 
To Thee, the Gracious One, 
Else is my hope all gone, 

I sink in dust ! 

Oh, answer me, my God, 
Thy love is deep and broad, 

Thy grace is true ! 
Thousands this grace have shared, 
Oh, let me now be heard, 

Oh, love me too I 

Descend, Thou mighty love, 
JDescend from heaven above. 

Fill Thou this soul ! 
Heal every bruised part. 
Bind up this broken heart, 

And make me whole. 



FRUITLESS TOIL. 131 



'Tis knowing Thee that heals ; 
'Tis seeing Thee that seals 

Comfort and peace ! 
Show me Thy cross and blood, 
My Saviour and my God, 

Then troubles cease. bonak. 



FRUITLESS TOIL. 

U T ORD, I have toiled all night, 
Jj And still unblessed my hand ; 
Yet I will launch into the deep 
Once more at Thy command. 

" I hear triumphant songs 

Swell from the banks around. 
Each answering each with joyful cry, 
But /no spoil have found. 

" Fruitless is all my toil, 

Through long night-watches past, 
My heart is sick with hope deferred ; 
But Thou art come at last." 

The Usher's hands hung down ; 

Dull was his heart, and faint, 
When a heavenly voice the silence broke, 

And answered his complaint. 



132 FRUITLESS TOIL. 



" Wlien have I left thee, son, 

That thou shouldst droop with fear ? 
When hast thou sought my sympathy, 
And hast not found Me near ? 

" Not fruitless is thy toil, 

If thou my cross wouldst bear ; 
I do but ask thy willing heart 
To grave my image there. 

" For each net vainly cast 

Stronger thine arm will prove ; 
The trial of thy patient hope 
Is witness of Thy love. 

" The time, the place, the way 
Are open to mine eye ; 
I sent thee —not to gather spoil — 
To labor patiently, 

" My son ! was not thy cry, 

' Increase my faith, O Lord ! 
More of Thyself, and more like Thee V 
Behold, thy prayer is heard. 

" Oh, trust Me with thy crown, 
'Tis hidden safe with Me ; 
A little while, and where I am, 
There shall my servant be. 



THE TWO WORLDS. 133 

Bright seems thy brother's lot ; 

But, child, is tliine so dim ? 
The King, thy Friend, hath asked of thee 

To watch one hour with Him !" 

ANNA SHIPTON. 



THE TWO WORLDS. 
m WO worlds there are. To one our eyes we strain, 
1 Whose magic joys we shall not see again ; 
Bright haze of morning veils its glimmenng 
shore ; 
Ah, truly breathed we there 
Intoxicating air — 
Glad were our hearts in that sweet realm of 
Nevermore. 

The lover there drank her delicious breath, 
Whose love has yielded since to change or death ; 
The mother kissed her child whose days are o'er. 
Alas ! too soon have fled 
The irreclaimable dead : 
We see them— visions strange— amid the 
Nevermore. 

The merry song some maiden used to sing— 
The brown, brown hair that once was wont to 
cling 



134 THE TWO WORLDS. 



To temples long clay-cold : to the very core 
They strike our weary hearts, 
As some vexed memory starts 

From that long faded land — the realm of 
Nevermore. 

It is perpetual summer there. But here 
Sadly we may remember rivers clear, 
And harebells quivering on the meadow-floor, 
For brighter bells and bluer, 
For tenderer hearts and truer. 
People that happy land — the realm of 
Nevermore. 

Upon the frontier of this shadowy land 
We pilgrims of eternal sorrow stand : 

What realm liest forward, with its happier store 
Of forests green and deep. 
Of valleys hushed in sleep. 
And lakes most peaceful ? 'Tis the land of 
Evermore. 

Very far oflf its marble cities seem — 
Very far off — beyond our sensual dream — 
Its woods, unruffled by the wild winds' roar : 
Yet does the turbulent surge 
Howl on its very verge. 
One moment — and we breathe within the 
Evermore. 



THE TWO ANGELS. 135 

They wtiom we loved and lost so long ago, 
Dwell in those cities, far from mortal woe — 
Haunt those fresh woodlands, whence sweet 
caro lings soar. 
Eternal peace have they : 
God wipes their tears away : 
They drink that river of life which flows for 
Evermore. 

Thither we hasten through these regions dim, 
But lo ! the wide wings of the Seraphim 
Shine in the sunset ! On that joyous shore 
Om* lightened hearts shall know 
The life of long ago : 
The sorrow-burdened past shall fade for 
Evermore. 

Dublin 



THE TWO ANGELS. 

TWO angels, one of Life and one of Death, 
Passed o'er our village as the morning broke ; 
The dawn was on their faces, and beneath 

The sombre houses hearsed with plumes of 
smoke. 

Their attitude and aspect were the same ; 

Alike their features, and their robes of white : 



136 THE TWO ANGELS. 



But one was crowned with amarantli, as with 
flame, 
And one with asphodels, like flakes of light. 

I saw them pause on their celestial way ; 

Then said I, with deep fear and doubt oppressed, 
" Beat not so loud, my heart, lest thou betray 

The place where thy beloved are at rest !" 

And he who wore the crown of asphodels, 
Descending at my door, began to knock ; 

And my soul sank within me, as in wells 

The waters sink before an earthquake's shock. 

I recognized the nameless agony. 

The terror, and the tremor, and the pain, 

That oft before had filled or haunted me. 

And now returned with threefold strength again. 

The door I opened to my heavenly guest. 

And listened, for I thought I heard God's voice ; 

And, knowing whatsoe'r He sent was best, 
Dared neither to lament nor to rejoice. 

Then with a smile, that filled the house with light, 
" My errand is not Death, but Life," he said ; 

And, ere I answered, passing out of sight, 
On his celestial embassy he sped. 



IS THER E NO BALM IN GILEAD ? 137 



'Twas at tliy door, O frieud ! and not at mine, 
The angel witli the amarantliine wreath, 

Pausing, descended, and with voice divine. 

Whispered a word that had a sound like Death. 

Then fell upon the house a sudden gloom, 
A shadow on those features fair and thin ; 

And softly from that hushed and darkened room 
Two angels issued, where but one went in. 

All is of God ! If He but wave His hand, 

The mists collect, the rain falls thick and loud, 

Till, with a smile of light on sea and land, 
Lo ! He looks back from the departing cloud. 

Angels of life and death alike are His ; 

Without His leave they pass no threshold o'er ; 
Who, then, would wish or dare, believing this, 

Against His messengers to shut the door ? 



IS THERE NO BALM IN GILEAD? 

IS there no balm in Gilead, then ? is there no 
Healer nigh ? » 

No freshening spring to cheer the waste so deso- 
late and dry ? 
Hath Hope's dear vision vanished forever from 
thy sight, 
12* 



138 JS THERE NO BALM IN GILEAD ? 



And darkness fallen around tlioe, the very gloom 

of night ? 
And seems thy soul forsaken, her every blessing 

flown? 
No soothing for her sorrow, and nowhere to make 

her moan ? 
Yet stay; the cross thou bearest thus liath first 

been borne for thee, 
Jesus Himself did hang thereon, thy life and cure 

to be. 

For thine own ease He bare it all, — tlie scourge 

and j)iercing thorn. 
The nailing and the bruising, the denial, shame, 

and scorn ; 
Darkness and desolation deep, and pangs beyond 

thy thought, 
And all for thy soul's healing these sad agonies 

were wrought. 
Upon His Cross He yearned for tliee, for thee His 

heartstrings brake ; 
Himself of all forsaken. He could not thee forsake ; 
Then evermore, when chastenings sore thine inmost 

spirit wring, 
feay, My Belov'd is crucified, and I to Him v/ill cling. 

How shall I sing Thy holy love, dear Passion of 

my Lord ? 
Or how Thy mystic virtue sliall I worthily record ? 



IS THERE NO BALM IN GILEAD ? 139 



Thou art the spring of all our hope, the balsam 

of our woes, 
The solace of our yearnings, and the bower of 

our repose. 
True Paradise of all delights, since joy of grief 

is born ; 
For, as the flowers but close at night to ope more 

fresh with morn, 
So He who wept and bled for us, and bowed in 

earthly gloom. 
Now makes those sorrows our bright bliss, those 

wounds our joyous home. 

Here is a covert from the storm, when winds and 

waves arise, 
A shadow in the scorching noon, a light in star- 
less skies ; 
A staff upon the rugged road, a shield when foes 

assail, 
A charm Divine, against whose might no evil can 

prevail ; 
For where the Cross of Jesus is, is peace, and 

• there alone. 
And 'neath that l^anner of His love He gathereth 

His own ; 
And those who wilt be Christ's must not grudge 

their portion small. 
In His own bitter chalice, who once for thee 

drained it all. 



140 JS THERE NO BALM IN GILEAD f 



Thou know'st He went not up to joy, but first 

He suffered jDain, 
And all the self-same path must tread who that 

His bliss would gain : 
Is aught too wearisome or hard for Jesus' sake to 

bear ? 
While He is crowned with thorns wilt thou a 

crown of roses wear ? 
Lo ! this good Cross He offers thee ; it is thy very 

life; 
Anoint with holy unction, it will aid thee in the 

strife ; 
'Tis hallowed by thy Saviour's touch, who hung 

on it for thee, 
And Love's sweet night shall make it light, and 

win the victory. 

Draw near, thou reft and drooping heart, draw 
near and lift thy gaze 

To Him who yearns with outstretched arms thee 
from thy grief to raise ; 

Draw near, and, clinging close beneath thy Sa- 
viour's bleeding heart, 

Tell o'er each throb of that deep woe in which 
thou hast a part ; 

Tell o'er each drop of dear life-blood which ebbs 
for thee so fast. 

And all thy weary heart-aching upon that true 
love cast ; 



CHRIST S CALL TO THE SOUL. 141 



In Jesus' Cross and Passion is the medicine of thy 

soul, 
Yea, there is balm in Gilead, and a Healer to make 

thee whole. 

C. SELLON. 



CHRIST'S CALL TO THE SOUL. 

FAIR soul, created in the primal hour, 
Once pure and grand. 
And for whose sake I left My throne and power 

At Grod's right hand ; 
By this sad heart pierced through because I loved 

thee ; 
Let love and mercy to contrition move thee. 

Cast off the sins thy holy beauty veiling, 

Si^irit divine ! 
Vain against thee the hosts of hell assailing, 

My strength is thine ! 
Drink from My side the cup of life immortal, 
And love shall lead the path to heaven's portal. 

I for thy sake was pierced with many sorrows, 

And bore the cross, 
Yet heeded not the galling of the arrows. 

The shame and loss. 
So faint not, then, whate'er the burden be, 
But bear it bravely, even to Calvary. 

Savanarola. 



142 TEEIR NAMES. 



THEIR NAMES. 

SWEET thought, my God ! that on the pahns 
Of Thy most holy hands 
Are graven all Thy peoples' names, 
Though countless as the sands. 

Not one too mean to have his place 

Amid that record blest. 
And if but there our names are found, 

We'll share the heavenly rest. 

How can we then yield to distrust, 

Or think we are forgot, 
While ever thus the care of One 

Who loves and changes not ? m. c. 



T WO. 

TWO buds plucked from the tree, 
Two birdies flown from the nest. 
Two little darlings snatched 

From a fond mother's breast. 
Two little snow-white lambs 

Gone from the sheltering fold, 
Two little narrow graves 
Down in the graveyard cold. 



''THY SHIELD AND BUCKLER ." 143 



Two little drooping flowers 

Growing in purer aii", 
Blooming fragrant and bright 

In the Gardener's care. 
Two little tender birds 

Flown far from fear and harm, 
Two little snow-white lambs 

In the Good Shepherd's arm. 

Two little angels more 

Singing with voices sweet, 
Flinging their crowns of gold 

Down at their Saviom-'s feet. 
Free from all earthly care, 

Pure from all earthly stain, 
Oh, who could wish them back 

In this drear world again ? 

Cham'bers' Journal. 



HIS TRUTH SHALL BE THY SHIELD 
AND BUCKLE Rr* 

WHEN my sins in aspect dread 
Meet like waters o'er my head, 
Seen in light of God's own face, 
J3arker for his oflered grace — 
When I sigh for healing rest. 
By a hopeless yoke opprest, 

* Psalms xci. 4. 



144 " THY SHIELD AND B VGKLEB: 



StrnggTing in a grasp too strong, 

Borne as by a wind along — 

Then, I hear that Voice from Heaven, 

" Knock, and entrance shall be giren — 

Him that comes, whoe'er he be, 

I will never cast from Me !" 

When /come, with trembling heart. 

Will the Saviour say, '^ Depart ?" 

Shall I find His pardon free 

Is in wrath denied to me f 

Is my guilt so deep in stain 

That the cleansing blood is vain ? 

" Heaven and earth shall pass away, 

Not My Words—" so Christ doth say 

In that hour, '' His Truth shall be 

Shield and buckler unto thee." 

Wlien the clouds have hid His face, 
And His path no more I trace, ' 
And all comforts that illume 
Life, have faded into gloom — 
Quenched each earth-enkindled spark. 
Can I trust Him in the dark ? 
Will my wavering faith still hold 
To a promise breathed of old ? 
When I meet some foe unknown. 
Shall I find myself alone ? 
Soul, by faith thou walkest here : 



" THY SHIELD AND BUOKLERr 145 



Though nor sun nor stars appear, 
Wait and watch throughout the night, 
And till daybreak ask not sight ! 
All unseen, thy Heavenly Guide 
Walks, through darkness, at thy side. 
" Heaven and earth shall pass away. 
Not My Words — " so Christ doth say 
In the gloom " His Truth shall be 
Shield and buckler unto thee." 

In the terrors of the night, 
In the mid-day arrows' flight, 
When destruction wasteth near, 
And all faces blanch with fear, 
When a thousand round me fall, 
Shall I trust Thee calm through all ? 
Will this trembling spirit be 
Kept " in perfect peace " by Thee ? 
Th(3ugh all stable things may end, 
Earth and sky in tempest blend, 
Shall I lean upon Thy breast, 
And beneath Thy shadow rest ? 
Wilt Thou arm my soul with power, 
Ne'er experienced till that hour ? 
" Heaven and earth shall pass away, 
Not My Words—" so Christ doth say: 
In that strait '' His Truth shall be 
Shield and buckler unto thee." 
13 



146 " THY SHIELD AND BUCKLER: 



As the weary years go by, 

Will my love wax cold, and die ? 

If the pilgrimage be long. 

Life be dark, and foes be strong, 

Shall I not grow faint, and yield ? 

Shall I ever v/iu the field ? 

How shall I endure and dare ? 

How the cross in patience bear ? 

How through tedious years sustain 

Wavering conflict, oft in vain ? 

Nay, but the Unchanging Friend 

" Will confirm you to the end /" 

'' He Who hath the work begun 

Ne'er will leave that work undone — " 

While at God's right hand He lives, 

Deathless is the life He gives. 

Through all change, and woe, and strife, 

" Springing up to endless Life." 

" Heaven and earth shall pass away. 

Not My Words—" so Christ doth say : 

In all years "His. Truth shall be 

Shield and buckler unto thee." 

When I reach life's earthly bound, 
And the shadows darken round, 
All familiar things and dear 
Fading fast from eye and ear, — 
In that hour of mortal smart. 



THE OTHER SIDE. 147 



Tremliling flesh and failing heart, 

Shall I find my anchor vain, 

Parting in that latest strain ? 

Hear the Shepherd's voice of old, 

Looking on His helpless fold. 

Looking far, with gaze Divine, 

Down the ages' lengthening line : 

" Every feeble sheej> I know : 

Life eternal I bestow : 

None shall pluck them from My hand." 

Shall that word of promise stand ? 

Or, when countless foes affright, 

Closing round in latest fight. 

In that deadly hour and dim. 

Shall my soul be snatched from Him ? 

" Heaven and earth shall pass away. 

Not My Words — " so Christ doth say : 

In death's grasp " His Truth shall be 

Shield and buckler unto thee." h. a. b. 



THE OTHER SIDE. 

"TTfE dwell this side of Jordan's stream, 
T T Yet oft there comes a shining beam 

Across from yonder shore ; 
While visions of a holy throng. 
And sound of harp, and seraph song, 

Seem gently wafted o'er. 



148 THE OTHER SIDE. 



The other side ! Ah, there's the place 
"Where saints in joy past times retrace, 

And think of trials gone ; 
The veil withdrawn, they clearly see 
That all on earth had need to be, 

To bring them safely home. 

The other side ! No sin is there. 

To stain the robes that blessed ones wear, 

Made white in Jesus' blood : 
No cry of grief, no voice of woe. 
To mar the peace their spirits know — 

Their constant peace with Grod. 

The other side ! Its shore so bright 
Is radiant with the golden light 

Of Zion's city fair ! 
And many dear ones gone before 
Already tread the happy shore : 

I seem to see them there. 

The other side ! Oh, charming sight I 
Ul3on its banks, arrayed in white, 

For me a loved one waits : 
Over the stream He calls to me, 
Fear not— I am thy guide to be, 

Up to the pearly gates. 



/ AM CHRIST'S. 149 



The other side ! His well-known voice, 
And dear, bright face, will me rejoice ; 

We'll meet in fond embrace. 
He'll lead me on, until we stand. 
Each with a palm-branch in our hand, 

Before the Saviour's face. 

The other side ! The other side ! 
Who would not brave the swelling tide 

Of earthly toil and care ; 
To wake one day, when life is past, 
Over the stream, at home at last. 

With all the blessed ones there ! 



/ AM CHRIST'S, AND CHRIST IS MINE. 

LONG did I toil, and knew no earthly rest ; 
Far did I rove, and found no certain home ; 
At last I sought them in His sheltering breast 

Who opes His arms, and bids the weary come. 
With Him I found a home, a rest divine ; 
And I since then am His, and He is mine. 

Yes, He is mine ! and naught of earthly things, 
Kot all the charms of pleasure, wealth, or power, 

The fame of heroes, or the pomp of kings. 
Could tempt me to forego His love an hour : 

Go, worthless world, I cry, with all that's thine ! 

Go ! I my Saviour's am, and He is mine. 
13* 



150 1 -^^^ CHRIST'^. 



The good I have is from His stores supplied ; 

The ill is only what He deems the best ; 
He for my friend, I'm rich with naught beside, 

And poor without Him, though of all possest ; 
Changes may come ; I take, or I resign ; 
Content while I am His, while He is mine. 

Whate'er may change, in Him no change is seen ; 

A glorious sun, that wanes not nor declines ; 
Above the clouds and storms He walks serene, 

And sweetly on His peoples' darkness shines : 
All may depart ; I fret not, nor repine, 
While I my Saviour's am, while He is mine. 

He stays me falling, lifts me up when down, 
Reclaims me wandering, guards from every foe, 

Plants on my worthless brow the victor's crown, 
Which, in return, before His feet I throw ; 

Grieved that I cannot better grace His shrine 

Who deigns to own me His, as He is mine. 

While here, alas ! I know but half His love. 
But half discern Him, and but half adore ; 

But when I meet Him in the realms above, 
I hoj)e to love Him better, praise Him more ; 

And feel, and tell, amid the choir di\ine, 

How fully I am His, and He is mine. 

HENRY FEANCIS LTTE. 



SATISFIED. 151 



;S'.4 T IS FI E D. 

JESUS ! Friend unfailing, 
How dear art Tbfiu to me ! 
Are cares or fears assailing ? 

I find my strength in Thee ! 
Why should my feet grow weaiy 

Of this my pilgrim way ? 
Rough though the path, and dreary, 
It ends in perfect day. 

Naught, naught I count as treasure. 

Compared, O Christ, with Thee ! 
Thy sorrow without measure 

Earned peace and joy for me. 
1 love to own. Lord Jesus ! 

Thy claims o'er me and mine : 
Bought with Thy blood most precious, 

Whose can I be but Thine ? 

What fills my soul with gladness ? 

'Tis Thine abounding grace ! 
Where can I look in sadness, 

But, Jesus, on Thy face ? 
My all is Thy providing ; 

Thy love can ne'er grow cold ; 
In Thee, my Refuge, hiding, 

No good wilt Thju withhold ! 



152 SATISFIED. 

Why should I droop in sorrow ? 

Thou'rt ever by my side : 
Why, trembling, dread the morrow ? 

What ill can e'er betide ? 
If I my Cross have taken, 

'Tis but to follow Thee ; 
If scorned, despised, forsaken, 

Naught severs Thee from me ! 

Oh, worldly pomp and glory ! 

Your charms are spread in vain ! 
I've heard a sweeter story, 

I've found a truer gain ! 
Where Christ a place prepareth, 

There is my loved abode ; 
There shall I gaze on Jesus, 

There shall I dwell with God 1 

For every tribulation, 

For every sore distress. 
In Christ IVe full salvation, 

Sure help, and quiet rest. 
No fear of foes prevailing ! 

I triumph. Lord, in Thee ! 
O Jesus ! Friend unfailing ! 

How dear art Thou to me I 

Berlin Oesdngbvcli 



TEE DA Y OF REST. 153 



THE DAY OF REST. 

ODAY most calm, most bright, 
The fruit of this, the next world's bud, 
The endorsement of supreme delight, 
Writ by ti Friend, and with His blood ; 
The couch of time, care's balm and bay : 
The week wei-e dark but for Thy light. 
Thy torch doth show the way. 

The other days and thou 
Make up one man, whose face Thou art, 
Knocking at Heaven with thy brow ; 
The worky-days are the back part ; 
The burden of the week lies there, 
Making the whole to stoop and bow, 

Till thy release appear. 

Man had straightforward gone 
To endless death ; but thou dost pull 
And turn us round to look on One, 
Whom, if we were not very dull, 
We could not choose but look on still ; 
Since there is no place so alone, 

The which He doth not fill. 

Sundays the pillars are 
On which Heaven's palace arched lies ; 



154 THE BA Y OF REST. 



The other clays fill up the spare 
And hollow room, with vanities. 
They arc the fruitful beds and borders, 
In God's rich garden, that is bare, 

Which parts their ranks and orders. 

The Sundays of man's life, 
Threaded together on time's string, 
Make bracelets to adorn the wife 
Of the eternal, glorious King. 
On Sunday Heaven's gate stands ope ; 
Blessings are plentiful and rife — 

More plentiful than hope. 

This day my Saviour rose. 
And did enclose this light for His ; 
That, as each beast His manger knows, 
Man might not of his fodder miss, 
Christ hath took in this piece of ground, 
And made a garden there for those 

Who want herbs for their wound. 

The rest of our creation 
Our great Redeemer did remove, 
With the same shake, which at His Passion 
Did the earth and all things with it move. 
As Samson bore the doors away, 
Christ's hands,though nailed,wrought our salvation, 

Vnd did unhinge that day. 



THE SB UL AMITE. 155 



The bnghtness of that day 
We sullied by our foul offence ; 
Wherefore that robe we cast away, 
Having a new at His expense, 
Whose drops of blood paid the full price 
That was required to make us gay, 

And fit for Paradise. 

Thou art a day of mirth ; 
And where the week-days trail on ground, 
Thy flight is higher, as thy birth ; 
O let me take thee at the bound, 
Groping with thee from seven to seven. 
Till that we both, being tossed from earth, 

Fly hand in hand to Heaven ! 



HERBERT. 



THE S HULA MITE AT THE LORD'S FEET. 

POOR heart ! why throb thus wildly in my 
breast ? 
The more I ponder on my Master's word. 
The more are doubts and fears within me stirr'd, 
Long as my eyes on my ovai weakness rest. 

I to come forth ! What, I ! 'Twas so He said — 
My wav'riug steps to others must be guide, 
My feeble arm must 'gainst the foe be tried ; 

There a whole world — and here a lowly mrad 1 






156 LOVE TITA T PA SiRETH KNO WLED GE. { 

Ah, no, my Lord ! and yet the call is Thine ! - 

I spoke unwisely, keeping self in sight ; j 

I'll only look on Thy all-saving might — ' 

Be calm, my heart ! for my Beloved is mine. ! 

Yes, my Beloved is mine — what wouldst thou \ 
more ? 

The cause is His ! It is His work I do ! ; 

He is my rock, my shield and liuckler too ; ' 
Of strength and wisdom my unfailing store. 

And I am His. Oh, heart, be faithful still ! 

Still let Ilim lead me as it seems Him best ! ! 

With Him to combat, or with Him to rest, j 
Marcli, or encamp, according to His will. 

My Friend is mine, and I forever His : 1 

Himself he gave, myself to Him I give ; . < 

In me He dwells— in Him alone I live : | 

Was ever union half so blest as this ? 

L. C. C. 



THE LOVE THAT PASSETH KNOWLEDGE. 

ATOT what I am, O Lord, but what Thou art ! 
\y That, that alone can be my soul's true rest ; 
Thy love, not mine, bids fear and doubt depart, 
And stills the tempest of my tossing breast. 



LOVE THAT PASSETH KNOWLEDGE. 157 

It is Thy perfect love tliat casts out fear ; 

I know the voice that speaks the " It is I ;" 
And in these weU-kuown words of heavenly cheer, 

I hear the joy that bids each sorrow fly. 

Thy name is Love ! I hear it from yon Cross ; 

Thy name is Love ! I read it in yon tomb ; 
All meaner love is perishable dross, 

But this shall light me through time's thickest 
gloom. 

It blesses now, and shall forever bless ; 

It saves me now, and shall forever save ; 
It holds me up in days of helplessness, 

It bears me safely o'er each swelling wave. 

Girt with the love of God on eveiy side. 

Breathing that love as Heaven's own healing air, 

I work or wait, still followmg my guide. 
Braving each foe, escaping every snare. 

'Tis what I know of Thee, my Lord and God, 
That fills my soul with peace, my lips with song ; 

Thou art my health, my joy, my staff and rod ; 
Leaning on Thee, in weakness I am strong. 

I am all want and hunger ; this faint heart 
Pines for a fullness which it finds not here ; 

Dear ones are leaving, and, as they depart. 

Make room within for something yet more dear. 
14 



158 THE SHEEP- TRA CK 



More of Thyself, oh, show me hour by hour 
More of thy glory, O iny God and Lord ! 

More of Thyself in. all Thy grace and power. 
More of Thy love and truth, Incarnate Word ! 

BONAE. 



THE SHEEP-TllACK. 

rpWO ways : only two. One leadeth 
X Home to the land of rest, 
And the Good Shepherd guides the flock He 
feedeth, 
The road He knoweth best. 

The feeble lamb, within His bosom hiding, 

Is precious as the strong ; 
The sick He tends : in sweet compassion guiding 

The weary one with young. 

He leads them forth, He goeth out before then: ; 

And where the two ways meet, 
They look to Him, whose eye is watching o'er them, 

To guide their wavering feet. 

They own a mark by which the Master claims them, 
Though oft the sign seems dim ; 

And well they know the Shepherd King who 
names them — 
They hear and follow Him. 



THE SHEEP- TRA CK 159 



Sweet sounds His voice. All other calls uuheecling, 
Tliey watch where He may lead ; 

And in His face of love His wishes reading, 
The flock that track wiW. tread. 

Narrow it is, and rough, and often lonely, 

UiDon the mountain steep : 
There's room for Jesus, and for Jesus only. 

And for His timid sheep. 

Around spread flowery fields where in their blind- 
ness 
The careless ones would roam : 
Sharp seems the Shepherd's rod that falls in kind- 
ness 
To bring the wanderers home. 

Fierce howls the wolf, and adders creep around 
them ; 

But succor He will send ; 
For He who in the wilderness first found them 

Will keep to the end. 

Two ways : only two. The other bendeth 

Down unto hell beneath I 
Broad is the gate, and frantic mirth ascendeth 

From crowds that rush to death. 



160 " GOOD LORD, DELIVER US!" 



No heavenly friend will sootlie tlieir hoj^eles sor- 
row, 

No arm their burden bear ; 
No fold of rest awaits them on the morrow, 

No Shepherd King is there. 

For them death's bondage, and a night of weeping 

That hath no dawn of day. 
Oh, Christ ! who o'er Thy flock Thy watch art 
keeping, 

Thou art the Truth, the Way ! 

ANNA SHIPTON. 



"IN ALL TIME OF OUR TRIBULATION, 
GOOD LORD, DELIVER US!" 

SAVIOUR ! by Thy sweet compassion. 
So unmeasured, so Divine ; 
By that bitter, bitter Passion ; 

By that crimson Cross of Thine ; 
By the woes Thy love once tasted 
In this sin-marred world below, 
Succor those in tribulation, 
Succor those in sorrow now. 

Thou Who wast so sorely burdened, 
Help the weak that are op^Dressed ; 

Sanctify all earthly crosses, 
For the coming day of rest ; 



GOOD LORD, DELIVER US!" 161 



Give tlie meek a trustful spirit 
That will always lean on Thee, 

And in storms of deep affliction 
Still Thy gracious Presence see. 

Lord, Thou hast a holy purpose 

In each suffering we bear ; 
In each throe of pain and terror, 

In each secret, silent tear ; 
In the weary days of sickness, 

Famine, want, and loneliness ; 
In our night-time of bereavement, 

In om' soul's Lent-bitteraess. 

All the needful sweet correction 

Of this gentle Hand of Thine, 
All Thy wise and careful nurture, 

All Thy faultless discipline : 
All to purge the precious metal. 

Till it will reflect Thy face ; 
All to shape and polish jewels 

Thine Own diadem to grace. 

Lord, we know that we must ever 
Take our cross and follow Thee 

All along the naiTow pathway. 
If we would Thy gloiy see. 
14* 



162 ''GOOD LORD, DELIVER ITS!' 



Then, ob, help us each to bear it, 
By Thine own hard life of shame ; 

Let us suffer well and meekly, 
Let us glorify Thy name. 

Cheer the weak ones who are bending 

'Neath this weary burden now ; 
Lift the pallid faces upward, 

Smooth the care-worn, furrowed brow ; 
Send a bright and hopeful message 

To each tried and tempted heart. 
That the thick and gloomy shadows 

At that sunshine may depart. 

Tell them Thou canst see all sorrow 

In this world's rough wilderness ; 
Tell them Thou art near to succor, 

Near to comfort and to bless ; 
Tell them of Thy Cross and Passion, 

Tell them of Thy trials sore. 
Tell them of the Angel-city 

Where is joy for evermore. 

ADA CAMBRIDGE. 



VISITA TION OF THE SICK. 163 



VISITATION OF THE SICK. 

PEACE to this houBe ! O Thou Whose way 
Was on the waves, Whose voice did stay 
The wild wind's rage, come, Lord, and say, 
Peace to this house ! 



Thou, Who in j)ity for the weak 
Didst quit Thy heavenly Throne to seek 
And save the lost, come. Lord, and Hpeak 
Peace to this house ! 

Thou, Who dost all our sorrows know, 
And when our tears of anguish flow 
Dost feel compassion, come, bestow 
Peace on this house ! 

Thou, Who in agony didst pray, 
" Take, Father, take this cup away," 
And then wast strengthened, come and say, 
Peace to this house ! 

O Conqueror by suffering ! 
O mighty Victor ! glorious King ! 
From out of pain and sorrow bring 
Peace to this house ! 



104 VISITATION OF THE SICK, 



Thou, Who triumphant from the dead 
Thine Hands, didst o'er the Apostles spread, 
And say, " Peace to you," come, and shed 
Peace on this house ! 

Thou, Who didst on the clouds ascend, 
And then the Holy Spirit send, 
Send Him to comfort, and defend 
All in this house ! 

Lord, in the Sacramental food 
Of Thine own Body and Thy Blood, 
Peace that is felt, not understood, 
Give to this house ! 

Save, save us sinking in the deep. 
Give ease from pain and quiet sleep, 
And under Thy wing's shelter keep 
All in this house ! 

"Peace to this house," come, Lord, and say ; 
Come to us, Lord, and w^ith us stay ; 
Oh, give, and never take away 
Peace from this house ! 

And when at last our fainting breath 
On trembling lips scarce quivereth. 
Oh, bring us through the gate of Death, 
Lord, to Thine House ! 



THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST. 165 



To Thine own House in Paradise, 
To Thine own House above the skies, 
To live the life that never dies. 
Lord, in Thine House ! 

C. WOKDS WORTH. 



THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST. 

1 MARVEL night and day, and cannot cease — 
Ask evermore, Can this thing be ? 
Heaven brought to earth— her Maker made my 
peace, 
God bound, to set me free ! 

I cannot love Thee as I would and ought ; • 

But, by Thy grace presenting still, 
From all things else to Thee returns my thought, 

And brings Thee back my will. 

All thoughts, all searches, to this centre tend ; 

All rays in this one focus meet ; 
Here, as of old, the wise men journeying send 

Their treasures at Thy feet. 

There is no record, but doth hint of Thee ; 

All history else were Mse and vain ; 
The stones Thy kingdom preach ; loosed with this 
l^ey, 

All hardest things are plain. 



166 THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST. 



There is no wisdom but doth taste of Thine ; 

All lights that did Thine own forerun 
Caught Thy prevenieut gleams, as clouds that 
shine 

In the unrisen sun. 

The glories of earth's empires, age by age 

Submitting grandly to decay. 
Were but the' illusive dawn that did presage 

Thy fixed and perfect day. 

Art's beauteous dreams, the charm of thought and 
song, 

The majesty of rule and law, 
The single mind outsoaring from the throng, 

Gifted a world to draw, — 

"What were they all but preludes poor and faint 

Of Thy supreme imj)erial reign 
In glory and in beauty, when each saint 

Thy likeness shall attain ? 

Thou hast been here ; of old, as now, 

Walking unseen the paths we go ; 
But in the central years, one lifetime. Thou 

Thy visible form didst show. 



THE GIVER AND THE GIFTS. 107 



A cloud did steal Thee from us ; but that hour 

Thy glorious ministry began ; 
Thou gav'st the word — from thence, with quick- 
ening power, 

That word the earth o'erran. 

Thou art not gone, but hidden ; to our sense 
Thou shalt return ; Thou didst not show 

Thy glory at the first, whose height immense 
Stooped to our stature low. 

Till Thy true advent dawn, Thy Church, like Thee, 

Shall suffer, die, and rise again ; 
Then, glorified, made white, eternally 

With Thee on earth shall reign. 

CHARLES LAURENCE FORD. 



THE GIVER AND THE GIFTS. 

THE path I trod so pleasant was and fair, 
I counted it life's best ; 
Forgetting that Thou, Lord, hadst placed me there 
To journey towards Thy rest. 

Forgetting that the path was only good 

Because the homeward way, 
I held it fullest beauty where I stood — 

I thought these gleams the day. 



168 THE GIVER AND TEE GIFTS. 

I know I might liave seen in every star 

That sheds its light on me, 
A lamp of Thine, set out to guide from far 

My steps towards home and Thee ; — 

Have heard in streams with bending grasses clad, 

Which sparkled through the sod, 
The music of the river that makes glad 

The city of our God ; — 

In flowers plucked but to wither in my hand, 

Or j^assed with lingering feet. 
Have read my Father's promise of a land 

Where flowers ai*e still more sweet. 

And I have knelt, how often, thanking Thee 

For what Thy love hath given, 
Then turned away to bend to these my knee, 

And seek in these my Heaven. 

Forgive me that I, looking for the day. 

Forget whence it would shine ; 
And turned Thy helps to reasons for delay. 

And loved not Thee, but Thine. 

Yet most for the cold heart with which I write 

Of sin so faintly felt : — 
This frost of doubt, this darkness as of night 

Thy love can cheer and melt. 



" / WILL ARISSr 169 



On mc unworthy shed, O Lord, the glow 

Of Thy dear light and love, 
That I may walk with trusting faith below, 

Towards the fair land above ; 

That I may learn in all Thy gifts to see 

The love that on me smiled, 
And find in all I have a thought of Thee, 

Who thus hast blessed Thy child ; 

And most in what Thy tendcrest love hath given 

Those to my heart most dear ; 
May I through these look upward to Thy Heaven, 

In these find Thee most near. 

LUCY FLETCHER. 



"/ WILL ARISE AND GO TO MY FATHER." 

I ASK if Thou canst love me still, O God ? 
They say Thou canst not love so weak a thing — 
One that was angered by a Father's rod, 
One that hath wayward and rebellious been, 
Unstable, thankless, prone to every sin. 
Thou knowest all — yet whither shall I go. 
To leave my sins and with them leave my woe, 
Except to Thee, who only help canst bring, 
And bid me live thy pardoning love to sing ? 
15 



170 WAKINa. 



I como, my sinful thoaglits have vexed me long ; 

I fly, for evil spirits round me throng, 

And I am weak, but Thou, my God, art sfci'ong ! 

My tears are flowing — no, Thou canst not see 

Thy child in anguish and not pity me. 

I lay my head upon thy infinite heart, 

I hide beneath the shelter of thy wing ; 

Pursued, and tempted, helpless, I must cling 

To Thee, my Father ; bid me not depart. 

For sin and death pursue, and life is where Thou art ! 

Pede Crucis. 



W A KING. 

I HAVE done, at length, with dreaming ; 
Henceforth, O Thou Soul of mine. 
Thou must take up sword and gauntlet, 

Waging warfare most divine. 
Life is struggle, combat, victory — 

Wherefore have I slumbered on 
With my forces all unmarshaled. 

With my weapons all undrawn ? 
Oh, how many a glorious record 

Had th^ angel of me kept. 
Had I done instead of doubted, 

Had I warred instead of wept ! 



WAKING. 171 



But, begone ! regret, bewailing, 

Ye but weaken at tlie best ; 
I have tried the trusty weapons 

Resting erst within my breast : 
I have wakened to my duty, 

To a knowledge strong and deep, 
That I dreamed not of aforetime 

In my long, inglorious sleep : 
For to love is something awful. 

And I knew it not before ; 
And I dreamed not how stupendous 

Was the secret that I bore — 
The great, deep, mysterious secret 

Of a life to be wrought out 
Into warm, heroic action, 

Weakened not by fear or doubt. 
In this subtle sense of living. 

Newly stirred in every vein, 
I can feel a throb electric, 

Pleasure half-allied to pain. — 
'Tis so great— and yet so awful — 

So bewildering, yet so brave, 
To be king in every conflict 

Where before I crouched a slave. 
It's so glorious to be conscious 

Of a glorious power within. 
Stronger than the rallying forces 

Of a charged and marshaled sin. 



172 ^^0 THING B UT LEA VES. 



Never in those old romances 

Felt I half the sense of life 
That I feel within me stirring 

Standing in the place of strife. 
Oh, those olden days of dalliance, 

When I wantoned w^ith my fate, 
When I trifled with a knowledge 

That well-nigh had come too late I 
Yet, my Soul, look not behind thee, 

Thou hast work to do at last ; 
Let the brave toil of the Present 

Overarch the cruml)ling Past ; 
Build thy great acts high, and higher, 

Build them on the conquered sod 
Where thy weakness first fell bleeding, 

And thy first i3rayer rose to God. 

CAROLINE A. BRIGGS. 



NOTHING BUT LEAVES. 

VTOTHING but leaves : the spirit grieves 
ll Over a wasted life. 
Sins committed while conscience slept ; 
Promises made, but never kept ; 
Hatred, battle, and strife — 
Nothing but leaves. 

Nothing but leaves : no garnered sheaves 
Of life's fair ripened grain ; 



FA UL GERIIA RDT\S HYMN. l ^ 3 

"Words, idle words, for earnest deeds. 
We sow our seed— lo ! tares and weeds : 
Go reap witb toil and pain 
Nothing but leaves. 

Nothing but leaves : memory weaves 

No veil to sever the past ; 
As we return our weary way, 
Counting each lost and misspent day, 

We find sadly, at last. 

Nothing but leaves. 

And shall we meet the Master so, 

Bearing our withered leaves ? 
The Saviour looks for perfect fruit : 
We stand before Him, humbled, mute, 

Waiting the word He breathes — 
Nothing but leaves. 



PAUL GERHARDTS HYMN. 

COMETH sunshine after rain, 
After morning joy again; 
After heavy, bitter grief, 
Dawneth surely sweet relief: 

And my soul, who, from her height, 
Sank to realms of woe and night, 
Wingeth now to heaven her flight. 
15* 



174 PAUL GERHARDT'S HYMN. 

He whom this world dares not face, 
Hath refreshed me with His grace, 
And His mighty Hand unbound, 
Chains of hell about me wound ; 

Quicker, stronger, leaps my blood, 
Since His mercy, like a flood, 
Poured o'er all my heart for good. 

Bitter anguish have I borne, 
Keen regret my heart hath torn, 
Sorrow dimmed my weej^ing eyes, 
Satan blinded me with lies : 

Yet at last am I set free. 
Help, protection, love, to me 
Once more true companions be. 

Ne'er was left a helpless prey, 
Ne'er with shame was turned away, — 
He who gave himself to God, 
And on him had cast a load ; 

Who in God his hope hath placed, 
Shall not life in pain outwaste. 
Fullest joy he yet shall taste. 



REST REMAlNETUr 176 



" REST REMAISETHr 

TDEST REMAINETH—o\\ how sweet ! 
Flowei-y fields for wandering feet, 
Peaceful calm for sleepless eyes, 
Life for death, and songs for sighs. 



Rest remainefh — hush that sigh ; 
Mourning pilgrim, rest is nigh ; 
Yet a season, bright and blest. 
Thou shalt enter on thy rest. 

Rest remaineth — rest from sin — 
Guilt can never enter in ; 
Every warring thought shall cease — 
flest in purity and peace. 

Rest re7?mmeth— rest from tears, 
Rest from parting, rest from fears ; 
Every trembling thought shall be 
Lost, my Saviour— lost in Thee. 

Rest remaineth — oh, how blest ! 
We believe, and we have rest ; 
Faith, repo:iing tiiith, hath been 
'Mongst the things that are not seen. 



176 " >^ SHALL BE SA TISFIED. 



Thus, my Saviour, let me be 
Even liere at rest in Thee, 
And, at last, by Thee possessed, 
On Thy bosom sink to rest. 

From ''Dark Sayings on a Hai'p^ 



"I SHALL BE SATLStJEnr 

NOT HERE ! not here I not where the spark- 
ling waters 
Fade into mocking sands, as we draw near ; 
Where m the wildemess each footstep falters 
I shall be satisfied — but oh, not here ! 

Not here— where every di-eam of bliss deceives us, 
Where the worn spirit never gains its goal; 
Where, haunted ever by the thought that grieves us, 
Across us floods of bitter memory roll. 

There is a land where every i)ulse is thrilling 
With rapture earth's sojourners may not know ; 
Where heaven's repose the weai-y heart is stilling, 
And peacefully life's time-toss'd currents flow. 

Far out of sight, while yet the flesh infolds us, 
Lies the fair country where our hearts abide. 
And of its bliss is naught more wondi'ous told us 
Than these few words : " I shall be satisfied !" 



JESUS, I AM NEVER WEART. 177 



Satisfied I satisfied ! the spirit's yearning 
For sweet companionship with kindi'ed minds ; 
The silent love that here meets no retm-ning, 
The inspiration which no language finds. 

Shall they be satisfied ? — the soul's vague longings, 
The aching void which nothing earthly fills ? 

what desires uj)on my soul are thronging, 
As I look upward to the heavenly hills ! 

Thither my weak and weary feet are tending — 
Saviour and Lord, with Thy frail child abide ; 
Guide me toward home, where, all my wanderings 
ended, 

1 then shall see T/icc and '' be satisfied !" 



Jh'SCrS, I AJf NEVER WEARY. 

JESUS, I am never weary, 
^¥hen upon this bed of pain ; 
If Thy presence only cheer me, 
All my loss I count but gain : 

Ever near me, 
Ever near me, Lord, remain ! 

Dear ones come with fruits and flowers, 
Thus to cheer my heart the while, 



178 JESUS, I AM NEVER WEARY. 



lu tliese deeply anxious hours ; 
Oil ! if Jesus only smile ! — 

Only Jesus 
Can these troubling fears beguile. 

All my sins were laid upon Tliee, 
All my griefs were on Thee laid ; 

For the blood of Thine atonement 
All my utmost debts has paid : 

Dearest Saviour ! 
I believe, for Thou hast said. 

Dearest Saviour \ go not from me ; 

Let Thy presence still abide ; 
Look in tenderest love upon me — 

I am sheltering at Thy side, 
Dearest Saviour ! 

Who for suffering sinners died. 

Both mine arms are clasped around Thee, 
And my head is on Thy breast ; 

For my weaiy soul has found Thee 
Such a perfect^ perfe'it rest. 

Dearest Saviour ! 
Now I know that I am blest. 

MRS. WEISS. 



IVi; SHALL SEE HIM AS HE IS. 1 79 



WE SHALL SEE HIM AS HE IS. 

VTOT as He was, a houseless stranger, 
-Li With no home to shield His head ; 
Not as seen in Bethlehem's manger, 
Where the horned oxen fed ; — 



Not as in the Garden groaning. 
Plunged in deep, mysterious woe. 

All the guilt of man bemoaning, 

While the precious blood-sweats flow ;- 

Not as seen on Calvary's mountain. 
Where He ofiered up His soul. 

Opening wide that sacred Fountain, 
Which alone can make us whole ; — 

Not as He was, a pale and breathless 
Captive in the shades beneath, — 

But as He is. Immortal, Deathless, 
Conqueror o'er the powers of death ! 

Yes ! we shall see Him in our nature. 

Seated on His lofty Throne- 
Loved, adored by every creature — 
Owned as God, and God alone 1 



180 CONTENTMENT. 



There countless hosts of shining spirits 
Strike their harps, and loudly sing 

To the praise of Jesus' merits, 
To the gloiy of their King ! 

When we pass o'er death's dark river, 
We shall see Him as He is - 

Resting in His love and favor, 
Owning all the glory His. 

There to cast our crowns before Him — 
Oh, what l)liss the thought afibrds I 

There forever to adore Him — 

King of kings and Lord of lords ! 



C NTE X TM li X T. 

BE thou content ; he still before 
His face, at whose right hand doth reign 
Fullness of joy for evermore, 

AVithout whom all thy toil is vain : 
He is thy living spring, thy sun, whose rays 
Make glad with life and light thy dreary days. 
Be thou content. 

In Him is comfort, light, and grace. 

And changeless love beyond our thought ; 

The sorest pang, the worst disgrace. 
If He is there, shall hann thee not. 



HA VE FAITH JN GOD. 181 



He can lift off thy cross, and loose thy bands, 
And calm thy fears ; nay, death is in His hands : 
Be thou content. 

Or art thou friendless and alone, 

Hast none in whom thou canst confide ? 

God careth for thee, lonely one — 
Comfort and help He will provide. 

He sees thy sruTows, and thy hidden grief, 

He knoweth when to send tliee quick relief: 
Be thou content. 

Thy heart's unspoken pain He knows. 
Thy secret sighs He hears full well ; 

What to none else thou dar'st disclose, 
To Him thou may'st with boldness tell. 

He is not far away, but ever nigh. 

And answereth willingly the poor man's cry : 
Be thou content. 



HAVE FAITH IN GOD. 

HAVE faith in God ! for He who reigns on high 
Hath borne thy grief and hears the suppli- 
ant's sigh ; 
Still to His arms, thine only refuge, fly. 
Have faith in God ! 
Id 



182 BREAD UPON THE WATERS. 



Fear not to call on Him, O soul distressed ! 
Thy sorrow's wliisper woos thee to His breast ; 
He who is often est there is oftenest blest. 
Have faith in God ! 

Lean not on Egypt's reeds ; slake not thy thirst 
At earthly cisterns. Seek the kingdom iirst. 
Though man and Satan fright thee with their 
worst, 

Have foith in God ! 

Go ! tell Him all ! The si; rh thy bosom heaves 
Is heard in heaven. Strength and grace He gives, 
Who gave Himself for thee. Our Jesus lives. 
Have faith in God ! 

ANNA SHIPTON. 



BRKAD UPON THE WA'TERS. 

SAY not, '• 'Twas all in vain," 
The anguish, and the darkness, and the strife ; 
Love thrown upon the waters comes again 
In quenchless yearnings for a nobler life. 
Think ! In that midnight, on thy weary sight 
The stars shone forth, and 'neatli their welcome 
rays 
Thine hopes to Heaven like birds first took their 
flight, 
And '' thou shalt find them — after many days." 



BB-EAD UPON THE WATERS. 183 



Say not, 

The vigil, and the sickness, and the tears ; 
For in that Land " where there is no more pain," 

The j^rain is garnered from those mournful years. 
The faded Ibrm, once sheltered on thy breast. 

In gentle ministry thy care repays ; 
And smiling on thee from her sinless rest. 

Fear not to find her—" after many days." 

Say not, " 'Twas all in vain," 

Thy tenderness, thy meekness — oh, not so ! 
A strength for others' sufferings shalt thou gain, 

As healing balms from bruised flowerets flow. 
Weep not the wealth in fearless faith cast forth 

On the dark billows shipwrecked to thy gaze ; 
The bark was frail, the gem had still its worth, 

And '' thou shalt find it — after many days." 

Say not, '• 'Twas all in vain," 
The watching, and the waiting, and the prayer ; 
In pierced hands hath it unassumed lain ; 

'Twill grow more radiant as it lingereth there. 
'Tis space — where once thy quivering form was 
cast, 
Thy heart- wrung sobs no floating breeze betrays ; 
Yet, 'mid the white-winged choir thy prayer hath 



And ^' thou shalt find it — after many days.' 



184 REST FOR THE WEARY. 



Say not, " 'Twas all in vain," ' 

The patience, and the pity, and the v/ord « 

In warning breathed 'mid passion's hurricane, I 

Unheeded here— but God that whisper heard, 

The tender grief, o'er strangers' sorrow shed, ; 

The sacrifice that won no human praise. • 

In faith upon the waters cast thy Bread, '. 

For " thou shalt find it — after many days." ; 

ANNA SHIPTON. 



1 



L'ESr FOR THE WEARV. 

OT long, not long ! The spirit- wasting fever 
Of this strange life shall quit each throl)bing 
vein ; 
And this wild pulse flow placidly forever ; 
And endless peace relieve the burning brain. 

Earth's joys are but a dream ; its destiny 
Is but decay and death. Its fairest form 

Sunshine and shadow mixed. Its brightest day 
A rainbow braided on the wreaths of storm. 

Yet there is blessedness that changeth not ; 

A rest with God, a life that cannot die ; 
A better portion, and a brighter lot ; 

A home with Christ, a heritage on high. 



THE OFFERING. 185 



Hope for the hopeless, for the weary rest, 
More gentle than the still repose of even ! 

Joy for the joyless, bliss for the unblest ; 
Homes for the desolate in yonder heaven. 

The tempest makes returning calm more dear ; 

The darkest midnight makes the brightest star ; 
Even -so to us, when all is ended here. 

Shall be the past, remembered from afar. 

Tlien welcome change and death ! since these 
alone 

Can break life's fetters, and dissolve its spell ; 
Welcome all present change, which speeds us on 

So swift to that which is unchangeable. 



THE OFFERIXCr. 

Vr O more my own, Lord Jesus ; 
11- Bought with Thy precious Blood, 
I give Thee but Thine own. Lord, 
That long Thy love withstood. 

I give the life Thou gavest, 

My present, future, past ; 
My joys, my fears, my sorrows, 

My first hope and my last. 
16* 



186 ^^^' OFFERIXG. 

I give Thee up my weakness, 
That oft distrust hath bred, 

That Thy indwelling power 
May thus be perfected. 

I give the love the sweetest 
Thy goodness grants to me ; 

Take it, and make it meet, Lord, 
For offering to Thee. 

Smile ! and the very shadows 
In Thy l)lest light shall shine ; 

Take Thou my heart, Lord Jesus, 
For Thou hast made it Thine. 

Thou know'st my soul's amljition, 
For Thou hast changed its aim ; 

(The world's reproach I fear not,) 
To share a Saviour's shame : 

Outside the camp to suffer ; 

Within the Vail to meet, 
And hear Thy softest whisper 

From out the Mercy-seat. 

Thou bear'st me on Thy bosom, 
Amidst Thy jewels worn. 

Upon Thy hands deep graven. 
By arms of love upborne. 



HOLD ON, HOLD IN, HOLD OUT. 187 



Rescued from sin's destruction, 
Ransomed from death and hell ; 

Complete in Thee, Lord Jesus : 
Thou hast done all things well ! 

Oh, deathless love that bought me ! 

Oh, price beyond my ken ! 
Oh, Life, that hides my own life 

E'en from my fellow-men ! 

Now fashion, form, and fill me 
With light and love Divine ; 

So, ONE with Thee, Lord Jesus, 
I'm Thine — forever Thine ! 

ANNA SHIPTON. 



HOLD ON, HOLD IN, HOLD OUT. 

HOLD on, my heart, in thy believing ! 
The steadfast only wins the crown. 
He who, Avhen stormy waves are heaving. 
Parts with his anchor, shall go dov/n ; 
But he who Jesus holds through all, 
Shall stand, though -heaven and earth shall fall. 

Hold in thy murmurs, heaven arraigning ! 

The patient see God's loving face : 
Who bear their burdens uncomi:>laining, 

'Tis they that win the Father's grace ; 



188 GO TELL JESITS. 



He wounds himself wlio bears the rod, 
And sets himself to fight with God. 

Hold out ! There comes an end to sorrow ; 

Hope from the dust shall conquering rise ; 
The storm foretells a sunnier morrow ; 

The Cross points on to Paradise. 
The Father reigneth ; cease all doubt ; 
Hold on, my heart, hold in, hold out ! 

SCnMACKE. 



GO TELL JESUS. 

BURY thy sorrow, 
The world has its share 
Bury it deeply. 
Hide it with care. 



Think of it calmly 

Wlien curtained by night, 
Tell it to Jesus. 

And all will be right. 

Tell it to Jesus, 

He knoweth thy grief ; 
Tell it to Jesus, 

He'll aend thee relief. 



A PSALM FOR NEW YEARS EVE. 189 



Gather the sunlight 
Aglow on tliy way ; 

Gather the moonbeams, 
Each soft silver ray. 

Hearts grown aweary 
With heavier woe, 

Droop 'mid the darkness- 
Go comfort them, go ! 

Bury thy sorrow, 
Let others l)e blest ; 

Give them the sunshine, 
Tell Jesus the rest. 



A PSALM FOR NEW YEARS EVE. 

A FRIEND stands at the door ; 
In either tight-closed hand 
Hiding rich gifts, three hundred and three-score ; 

Waiting to strew them daily o'er the land 
Even as seed the sower. 

Each drop he treads it in and passes by : 
It cannot be made fruitful till it die. 

Oh, good JSTew Year, we clasp 
This warm shut hand of thine I 



190 A PSALM TOR NEW YEAR'S EVE. 

Loosing forever, with lialf-sigh, lialf-grasp, 

That which fi'om ours iVdls like dead fingers' 
twine : 

Ay, whether fierce its grasp 

Has been, or gentk', having been, we know 
That it was l)lessed ; let the Old Year go. 

Oh, New Year, teach us faith ! 

The road of life is hard ; 
When our feet bleed, and scourging winds us 
scathe. 
Point thou to llini whose visage was more 
marred 
Than any man's ; who saitii 

" Make straight paths for your feet — " and to 

the opprost — 
" Come ye to Me, and I will give you rest." 

Yet hang some lamp like hope 

Above this unknown way. 
Kind year, to give our spirits freer scope, 

Ajid our hands strength to work while it is day. 
But if that way must nlope 

Tombv/ard. oh, bring before our fading eyes 

The lamp of life, the Hope that never dies ! 



Comfort our souls with love,- 



Love of all human kind ; 



TEE CELESTIAL CO US TRY. 191 



Love special, close — in wliicli like sheltered dove 
Eacli weary heart its own safe nest may find ; 

And love that turns above 

Adoringly : contented to resign 

All loves, if need be, for the Love Divine. 

Friend, come thou like a friend, 

And whether bright thy face. 
Or dim with clouds we cannot comprehend, — 

We'll hold our patient hands, each in his place, 
And trust thee to the end ; 

Knowing thou leadest onwards to those spheres 

Where there are neither days, nor months, nor 
years. 

D. M. MULOCH. 



THE CELESTIAL COUNTRY. 

rpHE world is very evil ! 

JL The times are waxing late : 

Be sober, and keep vigil ; 

The Judge is at the gate : 
The Judge That comes m mercy. 

The Judge that comes with might, 
To terminate the evil, 

To diadem the right. 
When the just and gentle Monarch 

Shall summon from the tomb, 



192 THE CELESTIAL COUNTRY. 



Let man, the guilty, tremble, 

For Man, tlie God, shall doom. 
Arise, arise, good Christian, 

Let right to wrong succeed ; 
Let i^enitential son-ow 

To heavenly gladness lead ; 
To the light that hath no evening, 

That knows nor moon nor sun, 
The light so new and golden. 

The light that is but one. 
And when the Sole-Begotten 

Shall render u]) once more 
The kingdom to the Father 

Whose own it was before, — 
Then glory yet unheard of 

Shall shed abroad its ray. 
Resolving all enigmas. 

An endless Sal)l)atl)-day. 
Then, then from his oppressors 

The Hel)rew shall, go free. 
And celebrate in triumph 

The year of Jubilee ; 
And the sunlit Land that recks not 

Of tempest nor of light, 
Shall fold within its bosom 

Each happy Israelite : 
The Home of fadeless splendor, 

Of flowers that fear no thorn, 



THE CELESTIAL COUNTRY. 193 



WTiere they shall dwell as children. 

Who here as exiles mourn. 
Midst power that knows no limit, 

And wisdom free from bound, 
The Beatific Vision 

Shall glad the Saints around : 
The iDeace of all the faithful, 

The calm of all the blest, 
Inviolate, unvaried, 

Divinest, sweetest, best. 
Yes, peace ! for war is needless, — 

Yes, calm ! for storm is past, — 
And goal fi'om finished labor. 

And anchorage at last. 
That peace — but who may claim it \ 

The guileless in their way. 
Who keep the ranks of battle. 

Who mean the thing they say : 
The peace that is for heaven, 

And shall be for the earth : 
The palace that re-echoes 

With festal song and mirth ; 
The garden, l^reathing spices, 

The paradise on high : 
Grace beautified to glory. 

Unceasing minstrelsy. 
There nothing can be feeble, 



There none can ever mourn, 
17 



194 ^^^ CELESTIAL COUNTRY. 



There nothing is divided, 

There nothing can be torn : 
'Tis fury, ill, and scandal, 

'Tis peaceless peace bclo jv ; 
Peace, endless, strifeless, ageless, 

The halls of Syon know : 
O happy, holy portion. 

Refection for the blest : 
True vision of true beauty, 

Sweet cure of all distress ! 
Strive, man, to win that glory ; 

Toil, man, to gain that light ; 
Send hope before to grasp it. 

Till hope be lost in sight : 
Till Jesus gives the portion 

Those blessed souls to till. 
The insatiate, yet satisfied, 

The full, yet craving still. 
That fullness and that craving 

Alike are free from pain. 
Where thou, midst heavenly citizens, 

A home like theii's shalt gain. 
Here is the warlike trumpet ; 

There, life set free from sin ; 
When to the last Great Supper 

The faithful shall come in : 
When the heavenly net is laden 

With fishes many and great ; 



VIIE CELESTIAL COUyTRY. 195 



So glorious in its fullness, 

Yet so inviolate : 
And the perfect from ttie shattered, 

And the fall'n from, them that stand, 
And the sheep-flock from the goat-herd 

Shall part on either hand : 
And these shall jjass to torment. 

And those shall triumph, then ; 
The new peculiar nation, 

Blest number of blest men. 
Jerusalem demands them : 

They paid the price on earth, 
And now shall reap the harvest 

In blissfulness and mirth : 
The glorious holy people, 

Who evermore relied 
Upon their Chief and Father, 

The King, the Crucified : 
The sacred ransomed number 

Now bright with endless sheen, 
Who made the Cross their watch-word 

Of Jesus Nazarene : 
Who, fed with heavenly nectar. 

Where foul-like odors play. 
Draw out the endless leisure 
- Of that long vernal day : 
And through the sacred lilies, 

And flowers on every side, 



196 THE CELESTIAL COUNTBT. 

The happy dear-bought people 

Go wandering far and wide. 
Their breasts are filled with gladness, 

Their mouths arc tuned to praise, 
What time, now safe forever, 

On former sins they gaze : 
The fouler was the error, 

The sadder was the fall, 
The ampler are the praises 

Of Him Who pardoned all. 
Their one and only anthem, 

The fullness of His love, 
Who gives, instead of torment, 

Eternal joys above : 
Instead of torment, glory ; 

Instead of death, that life 
Wherewith your happy Country, 

True Israelties ! is rife. 

Brief life is here our portion ; 

Brief sorrow, short-Iivod care ; 
The life that knows no ending, 

Tlie tearless life, is there. 
O happy retribution ! 

Short toil, eternal rest ; 
For mortals and for sinners 

A mansion with the blest ! 
That we should look, poor wand'rers, 



THE CELESTIAL COUNTRY. 197 



That worms should seek for dwellings 

Beyond the starry sky ! 
To all one happy guerdon 

Of one celestial grace ; 
For all, for all, who mourn their fall. 

Is one eternal place : 
And martyrdom hath roses 

Upon that heavenly ground : 
And white and virgin lilies 

For virgin-souls abound. 
There grief is turned to pleasui'e ; 

Such pleasure, as below 
No human voice can utter, 

No human heart can know : 
And after fleshly scandal, 

And after this world's night, 
And after storm and whirlwind. 

Is calm, and joy, and light. 
And now we fight the battle, 

But then shall wear the crown 
Of full and everlasting 

And passionless renown : 
And now we watch and struggle, 

And now we live in hope, 
And By on, in her anguish, 

With Babylon must cope : 
But He Whom now we trust in 
17* 



198 THE CELESTIAL COUNTRY. 



Shall tlien be seen and known, 
And they that knov,' and see Him 

Shall have Him for their own. 
The miserable pleasures 

Of the body shall decay : 
The bland and flattering struggles 

Of the flesh shall pass away : 
And none shall there be jealous ; 

And none shall there contend ; 
Fraud, clamor, guile — what say I ? 

All ill, all ill shall end ! 
And there is David's Fountain, 

And life in fullest glow, 
And there the light is golden, 

And milk and honey flow : 
The light that hath no evening, 

The health that hath no sore, 
The life that hath no ending, 
But lasteth evermore. 

There Jesus shall embrace us, 

There Jesus be embraced, — 
That spirit's food and sunshine 

Whence earthly love is chased. 
Amidst the happy chorus, 

A place, however low. 
Shall show Him us, and, showing. 

Shall satiate evermo. 



THE CELESTIAL COUA-TBY. 199 



By liope we struggle onward, 

While here we must be fed 
By milk, as tender infants, 

But there by Living Bread. 
The night was full of terror, 

The morn is bright with gladness : 
The Cross becomes our harbor, 

And we triumjjh after sadness : 
And Jesus to His true ones 

Brings troi)hies fail* to see : 
And Jesus shall be loved, and 

Beheld in Galilee : 
Beheld, when morn shall waken, 

And shadows shall decay, 
And each true-hearted servant 

Shall shine as doth the day : 
And every ear shall hear it ; — 

Behold thy King's array : 
Behold thy God in beauty. 

The Law hath past away ! 
Yes ! God my King and Portion, 

In fullness of His grace, 
We then shall see foreyer, 

And worship face to face. 
Then Jacob into Israel, 

From earthlier self estranged, 
And Leah into Rachel 

Forever shall be changed : 



200 THE CELESTIAL COUNTRY, 



Then all tlie halls of Syon 
For aye shall be complete, 

And, in the Land of Beauty, 
All things of beauty meet. 



For thee, O dear, dear Country ! 

Mine eyes their vigils keep ; 
For very love, beholding 

Thy happy name, they weep : 
The mention of thy glory 

Is unction to the braast. 
And medicine in sickness. 

And love, and life, and rest. 
O one, O onely Mansion I 

O Paradise of Joy ! 
Where tears are ever banished, 

And smiles have no alloy ; 
Beside thy living waters 

All plants are, great and small, 
The cedar of the forest, 

The hyssop of the wall : 
With jaspers glow thy bulwarks ; 

Thy streets with emeralds blaze 
The sardius and the topaz 

Unite in thee their rays : 
Thine ageless walls are bonded 

With amethyst unpriced : 



THE CELESTIAL COUNTRY. 201 



Thy Saints build up its fabric, 

And the corner-stone is Christ. 
The Cross is all thy splendor, 

The Crucified thy praise : 
His laud and benediction 

Thy ransomed people raise : 
Jesus, the Gem of Beauty, 

True God and Man, they sing : 
The never-failing Garden, 

The ever-golden King : 
The Door, the Pledge, the Husband, 

The Guardian of his Court : 
The Day-star of Salvation, 

The Porter and the Port. 
Thou hast no shore, fair ocean ! 

Thou hast no time, bright day I 
Dear fountain of refreshment 

To pilgrims far away ! 
Upon the Rock of Ages 

They raise thy holy tower : 
Thine is the victor's laurel, 

And thine the golden dower : 
Thou feel'st in mystic rapture, 

O Bride that know'st no guile. 
The Prince's sweetest kisses, 

The Prince's loveliest smile ; 
Unfading lilies, bracelets 

Of living pearl thine own ; 



202 THE CELESTIAL COUNTRY. 



The Lamb is ever near thee, 

The Bridegroom thine alone ; 
The Crown is He to guerdon, 

The Buckler to protect, 
And He Himself the Mansion 

And He the Architect. 
The only art thou needest, 

Thanksgiving for thy lot : 
The only joy thou seekest, 

The Life where Death is not : 
And all thine endless leisure 

In sweetest accents sings, " 
The ill that was thy merit, — 

The wealth that is thy King's ! 



With milk and honey blest. 
Beneath thy contemplation 

Sink heart and voice oppressed : 
I know not, O I know not, 

What social joys are there ; 
What radiancy of glory, 

What light beyond compare I 
And when I fain would sing them, 

My spirit fails and faints ; 
And vainly would it image 

The assembly of the Saints. 
They stand, those halls of Syon, 



THE CELESTIAL COUNTRY. 203 



Conjubilant with song, 
And bright with many an angel, 

And all the martyr throng : 
The Prince is ever in them ; 

The daylight is serene ; 
The pastures of the Blessed 

Are decked in glorious sheen. 
There is the throne of David, — 

And there, from care released, 
The song of them that triumph, 

The shout of them that feast : 
And they who, with their Leader, 

Have conquered in the fight. 
Forever and forever 

Are clad in robes of white ! 

O holy, placid harp-notes 

Of that eternal hymn ! 
O sacred, sweet refection, 

And peace of Seraphim ! 
O thirst, forever ardent, 

Yet evermore content ! 
O true peculiar vision 

Of God cunctipoteut ! 
Ye know the many mansions 

For many a glorious name. 
And divers retrilDutions 

That divers merits claim : 



204 THE CELESTIAL COUNTRY. 



For midst the constellations 
That deck our earthly sky, 

This star than that is brighter,- 
And so it is on high. 



Jerusalem the glorious ! 

The glory of th' Elect ! 
O dear and future vision 

That eager hearts expect ; 
Even now by faith I see thee ; 

Even here thy walls discern : 
To thee my thoughts are kindled, 

And strive and pant and yearn : 
Jerusalem the onely, 

That look'st from heaven below, 
In thee is all my glory ; 

In me is all my woe : 
And though my body may not, 

My spirit seeks thee fain, 
Till flesh and earth return me 

To earth and flesh again. 
O none can tell thy bulwarks, 

How gloriously they rise : 
O none can tell thy capitals 

Of beautiful device : 
Thy loveliness oppresses 

All human thought and heart : 



THE CELESTIAL COUNTRY. 205 



And none, O peace, O Sj-on, 

Can sing tliee as thou art. 
New mansion of new people. 

Whom God's own love and light 
Promote, increase, make holy, 

Identify, unite. 
Thou City of the Angels ! 

Thou City of the Lord ! 
Whose everlasting music 

Is the glorious decachord !* 
And there the band of Prophets 

United praise ascril^es, 
And there the twelve-fold chorus 

Of Israel's ransomed tribes : 
The lily-beds of virgins, 

The roses' martyr-glow. 
The cohort of the Fathers 

Wlio kept the faith below. 
And there the Sole-Begotten 

Is LoKD in regal state ; 
He, Judah's mystic Lion, 

He, Lamb Immaculate. 
O fields that know no sorrow ! 

O state that fears no strife ! 

♦ Decachord. With reference to the mystical explanation, 
•which, seeing in the number ten a type of perfection, under- 
stands the '-instrument of ten strings" of the perfect harmony 
of heaven. 



206 ^^'li^ CELESTIAL COUA'TEY. 

O princely bow'rs ! O land of flow'rs I 
O realm and home of life ! 



Jerusalem, exulting 

On that securest shore, \ 

I hope thee, wish thee, sing thee, J 

And love thee evermore I j 

I ask not for my merit : ' 

I seek not to deny . 

My merit is destruction, , 

A child of wi'ath am I : 

But yet with Faith I venture < 

And Hope upon my way ; \ 
For those perennial guerdons 

I labor night and day. '\ 

The Best and Dearest Father ' 

Who made me and Who saved, 
Bore with me in defilement, 

And fi-om defilement laved : \ 

When in His strength I struggle, ; 

For very joy I leap, ; 

When in my sin I totter, i 

I weep, or try to weep : | 

And grace, sweet grace celestial, ' 

Shall all its love display, 

And David's Royal Fountain j 

Purge every sin away. : 



THE CELESTIAL COUNTRY. 207 

O mine, my golden Syon I 

O lovelier far than gold ! 
With laurel-girt battalions, 

And safe victorious fold : 
O sweet and blessed Country, 

Shall I ever see thy face ? 

sweet and blessed Country, 
Shall I ever win thy grace ? 

1 lume the hope within me 
To comfort and to bless ! 

Shall I ever win the prize itself? 
O tell me, tell me, Yes ! 

Exult, O dust and ashes ! 

The Lord shall be thy part : 
His only, His forever, - 

Thou shalt be, and thou art ! 
Exult, O dust and ashes 1 

The Lord shall be thy part : 
His only. His forever, 
id 

BERNARD OF CLUNY. 

Translated ty Neale. 



208 TAKE HE A RT OF GRA CE. 



" TAKE HEART OF GRACE." 

OH, tliou ! wlio tossing on life's troubled ocean, 
Mournest the hidings of thy Father's face, 
And comfortless, amid the wild commotion, 
Seekest in vain some quiet resting-place ; 
Thou weary, fainting soul ! " take heart of 
grace." 

Look uj) ! when storms of woe are round thee 
sweeijing, 
Learn thou in all thy Saviour's hand to trace : 
Al)ove the storm, behind the dark clouds, keeping 
Ceaseless watch o'er thee, beams my loving. face ; 
Therefore, thou faithless one ! take heart of 
grace. 

Not all the fiercest tempests round thee blowing. 
Can drive thee far from heaven's sweet resting- 
place ; 

Not all the floods thy sorrowing soul o'erflowing, 
Can long avail to hide from thee my face ; 
Therefore, O downcast soul ! take heart of grace. 

Oh, waste no more thy breath in weak complain- 
ing ! 
Doubts thi-ow aside ! No longer thus disgrace 
My faithful love that leading, guiding, training, 



TAKE HEART OF GRACE. 209 



Perfects thee thus for my own dwelling-place. 
O thou rebellious soul ! take heart of grace. 

Hast thou not seen how, for some precious treasure, 
Men beat of purest gold, a goodly case ? 

Or cut for fragrant odors, at their pleasure, 
Out of rough stone, a rare and j)olished vase ? 
O thou short-sighted one ! take heart of grace. 

Like them, when for myself I am preparing 
Out of the soul, a fit abiding-place ; 

I hew thee, beat thee, till I see thee bearing 
My image ; and my perfect likeness trace ; 
Therefore, thou chosen one ! take heart of grace. 

Oh, then, be of good courage ! for I love thee ; 

Gladly and cheerfully each cross embrace. 
And bear it manfully ; for soon above thee, 

Light from my throne each cloud away shall 
chase ; 

Therefore, afflicted one ! take heart of grace. 

And soon life's sorest trials passed forever. 
Faultless before thy and my Father's face, 

I will present thee joyfully ; and never 
Need to say to thee, in that resting-place, 
O weaiy, fainting soul ! take heart of grace. 



210 BEGA [JSE IIE Fllis T L0\ 'ED US. 



For every hour of that blest life immortal, 
Thou shalt be glad my guiding hand to trace, 

That made thee meet, by trials, through the portal 
To enter in, and rest in my embrace ; 
Therefore, look upward! and take heart of 
grace. h. n. c. 



BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US. 

I LOVE Thee, O my God ! but not 
For what I hope thereby, 
Nor yet because who love Thee not 

Must die eternally. 
I love Thee, O my God 1 and still 

I ever will love Thee, 
Solely becaiisi', my God, Thou art 
Who first hast loved me ! 

For me, to lowest depths of woe 

Thou didst Thyself abase ; 
For me didst bear the cross, the shame, 

And manifold disgrace ; 
For me didst suffer pains unknown, 

Blood-sweat and agony. 
Yea, death itself— all, all for me ! 

For me. Thine enemy ! 



SICK A.W AV PRISON. 211 



Tlicn shall I not, O Saviour, mine ! 

Shall I not love Thee well ? 
Not with the hope of winning heaven, 

Nor of escaping hell ; 
Not with the hox3e of earning aught, 

Nor seeking a reward ; 
But freely, fully, as Thyself 

Hast loved me, O Lord 1 



FRANCIS ZAVIER. 



SICK AND IN PRISON. 

WILDLY falls the night around me, 
Chains I cannot break have bound me ; 
Spirits unrebuked, undriven 
From before me darken Heaven ; 
Creeds bewilder, and the saying 
Unfelt prayer makes need of prating. 

In this bitter anguish lying 

Only Thou wilt hear my crying — 

Thou whose hands wash white the erring. 

As the wool -is at the shearing, 

Not with dulcimer or psalter, 

But with tears, I seek Thine altar. 



1 2 SICK Ay I) IX FRLSOX. 

Feet, tliat trod the mount so weary, 
Eyes, tliat pitying looked on Mary, 
Hands, tliat brought a Father's blessing, 
Heads of little children pressing ; 
Voice, that said, " Behold thy Mother," 
Lo ! I seek ye, and none other. 

Look, O gentlest eye of pity, 
Out of Zion, glorious city ! 
Speak, O voice of mercy, sweetly ! 
Hide me, hands of love, completely. 
Sick, in prison, lying lonely, 
Ye can lift me up — Ye only. 

In my hot brow soothe the aching. 
In my sad heart stay the breaking ; 
On my lips, the murmurs trembling 
Change to praises undissem])ling ; 
Make me raise as th' evangels. 
Clothe me with the wings of angels. 

Power, that made the few loaves many, 
Powerj that blessed the wine at Cana, 
Power, that said to Lazarus " waken," 
Leave, oh, leave me not forsaken, 
Sick, and hungry, and in prison. 
Save me, Crucified and Risen ! 

ALICE CORY. 



"AS 0]^E WHOM Ills MOTHER COMFuETETlir^Vd 



"AS ONE WHOM HIS MOTHER COM- 
FORTETHr 

(^ QO will I comfort you," as when a sobbing 

U child 

Seeks sweet hcart^comfort on its mother's breast ; 
By her caresses fond unconsciously beguiled 

From memories of pain, soon sinks to rest. 

" Ye shall be comforted." Our hearts are faint 
and sore. 
We would be little children once again ; 
But childhood would bring back the griefs we 
knew of yore, 
But not the mother who caressed us then. 

We need a stronger love, we seek a deeper rest, 
Whose type and earnest we once knew in this ; 

The nestling of the child upon its mother's breast. 
The sweet dreams won us by her " good-night " 
kiss. 

Lord ! grant us restful sleej), untroubled, sweet 
and calm, 

Not fitful slumbers 'mid Life's fevered dream ; 
Oh, seal our weary eyelids with thy touch of balm. 

Not to re-ope until the Great Day's gleam. 



214"^'^^-'^"^ WHOM HIS MOTHER COMFORTETIi:' 



And yet we are such children, foolish, weak and 
blind, 
That while we long for sleep, thy gentle hand 
May change the calming cup, and far more wise 
and kind, 
G'wt needed bitterness with this command : 



" Drink, child 1" Thy Father's love shall make the 
unsought drauglit 
Sweet to thy soul, though bitter to thy lips. 
Think, how for thee, thy sinless Elder Brother 
quaifed 
The cup thou filled'st, 'neath my love's eclipse. 



Ah, Father ! whatsoe'er thy children truly need 
Thou givest, not whatever they implore. 

And oft we grieving think. Thy mercy gives no 
heed 
To our rash pleadings, when our hearts are sore. 

But when the long sad lesson we have learned at 
length, 
And with unmurmuring meekness we receive 
The cup, whose bitter draught gives new and 
mighty strength, 
We own Thy wise true love, and no more grieve ; 



''AS ONE WHOM BIS MOTHER C0MF0ETETH:^^\ 5 

But rest in patient hope, altliougli Tliou long with- 
hold 
The chalice. Death and Life brimmed, chris- 
mal seal 
Of conquest at whose touch the pearly gates un- 
fold, 
And Heaven's high glories to the soul reveal. 

We only wait as minors, till the glad birth-day 
Shall crown us kings before our Father's throne. 

As princely exiles here, we struggle, toil, and pray, 
With eyes by watching very weary grown. 

For comfortless, aye, orphan'd. Thou dost never 
make 
Thy children. Trusting hearts are kept in peace, 
And when our night-time comes, Thou'lt bid us 
sleep to wake 
Where every sob is hushed and sorrows cease. 

L. 



INDEX TO SUBJECTS. 



PAGE 

A Prayer for You 127 

And they shall see His Face oO 

Abounding in Hope 92 

An Open Door 98 

Affliction 119 

"As one whom his Mother Comforteth" 213 

Bread Upon the Waters 182 

Because He first loved us 210 

Christ Risen 53 

Cast Down, but not Destroyed 91 

Child on the Judgment-Seat, The 109 

Christ's Call to the Soul 141 

Contentment 180 

Come unto Me ! 37 

Celestial Conntry, The 191 

Day of Rest, The 153 

Death of a Believer, The 20 

Even as Thou Wilt ! 76 

Everlasting Memorial, The 81 

Earth and Heaven 22 

Fruitless Toil 131 

Glory Dvvelleth in Immanuel's Land 55 

1ft "'-"'<) 



218 INDEX TO SUBJECTS. 



Giver and the Gifts, The 167 

Go Tell Jesus ! 188 

He Goeth before Them 63 

His Name 65 

He Giveth Songs in the Night 1'3 

House of God, The 107 

He Leads us Ou 117 

Holy Ghost ! Dispel our Sadness 118 

Hear My Cry 129 

Have Faith in God 181 

Hold On, Hold In, Hold Out ! 187 

He Knoweth All 13 

Homewards 14 

Hymn 85 

His Truth shall be thy Shield and Buckler 143 

In Suffering 50 

Is this All ? 123 

Is There no Balm in Gilead ? 187 

I am Christ's and Christ is Mine 14'J 

In all Time of Tribulation 160 

I will Arise and Go to my Father 169 

I Shall be Satisfied 170 

In the Closet 49 

Jacob's Ladder 71 

Jesus, I am Never Weary 177 

Kneeling at the Threshold 31 

Knocking, ever Knocking 69 

Light of the World, The 114 

Love that Passeth Knowledge, The 156 



INDEX OF S UBJECTS. 219 



Looking unto Jesus ^2 

Loving Cup, The 16 

Lord, are there few that be Saved ? 26 

Lord, Thou art Mine ! 28 

Leave God to order all thy Ways 33 

Mystery of Christ, The 165 

Marah \ ^^ 



Nearest and Dearest 



95 



Now I lay me Down to Sleep 112 

Nothing but Leaves 1' ^ 

Night Song ^^ 

Other World, The ^^ 

Open Thou our Eyes 125 

Other Side, The l^*^ 

Oflfering, The 1^'"^ 

Only our Love ^* 

Paul Gerhardt's Hymn 173 

Psalm for New Year's Eve, A • 189 

Per Pacem, Ad Lucem "^^ 

Rest Remaineth 1 ' *^ 

Rest for the Weary 1^^ 

Sick and in Prison 211 

Surely, I Come Quickly 62 

Sorrowing, yet Always Rejoicing 1<^<^ 

Submission • 1'-'' 

Shadows of the Past 12*^' 

Satisfied 1^1 

Shulamite at the Lord's Feet, The 155 



220 INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 

Sheep-Track, The 15S 

Shadow of the Rock, The 7 

Spiritual Temple, The 44 

Sinner's Friend, The 17 

" Take Heart of Grace". ...] 208 

The " E'en brings a' Hanie " 68 

Two Sunsets, The 77 

Two Villages, The 83 

Trust and Rest 106 

Trust 120 

Two Worlds, The 133 

Two Angels, The 135 

Their Names 142 

Two 142 

The Way is Long and Dreary 19 

Upward where the Stars are Burning 12 

Undertake for Me 23 

Undiscovered Country, The 24 

Unseen Battle-Field, The 38 

Visitation of the Sick 163 

Why Dost Thou Wait 79 

Wayside Watcher, The 84 

Weep Not for Her 97 

Waiting for Spring 103 

Walking 170 

We shall see Him as He Is 179 

Without Money and Without Price 40 

We Stood Beside the River 29 

We Glory in Tribulation 34 

Waiting for Christ 105 



INDEX TO FIRST LINES. 

1 

PAGE 

As these that watch for day 23 

Art thou weary. Art thou languid ? 37 

And whither came these goodly stores 44 

Ah, many a time we look on starlit-nights 71 

All the day you sit here idle 84 

As the harp-strings only render 119 

And he drew near and talked with them 125 

A friend stands at the door 189 

Bury thy sorrow 188 

Be thou content ; be still before 180 

Cometh sunshine after rain 173 

Come, drink ye, drink ye, all of it 16 

Could we but know 24 

Come to Jesus ! are you lonely 40 

Dropping down the troubled river 14 

Father, thy will, not mine, be done 50 

Fret not, poor soul, while doubt and fear 106 

Fair soul created in the primal hour 141 

God sends us bitter, that the sweet 73 

He leads us on 117 

Hold on, my heart, in thy believing 187 

Heart, be still 10 

19* (221) 



222 INDEX TO FIRST LINES. 

Have faith in God, for He who reigns on high 181 

Have mercy upon me, Lord ! 76 

Hope, Christian soul ! in every stage 99. 

Holy Ghost, dispel our sadness 118 

I'm kneeling at the threshold 31 

I ask if thou canst love me still, God ! 169 ^ 

It lies around us like a cloud 51 

I do not ask, Lord ! that life may be 75 

It was the Sabbath's blessed hour 95 

I have done at length with dreaniing 170 

In the quiet nursery chambers 112 

I marvel night and day and cannot cease 165 

Is there no balm in Gilead ? 137 

I have a Saviour ! He's pleading in glory 127 

In the moonlight when no murmur 114 

I love Thee, my God ! but not 210 

Jesus, I am never weary 177 

Knocking, knocking, ever knocking 69 

Lord, thou art mine 28 

Leave God to order all thy ways 33 

Long did I toil, and knew no earthly rest 149 

Lord, I have toiled all night 131 

Lord, while the shadows of the past surveying 126 

Much have I borne, but not as I should bear 91 

Not what I am, Lord, but what Thou art ! 156 

Not long, not long. The spirit-wasting fever 184 

No bird-song floated down the hill 77 

No sorrow is unmingled here 100 



INDEX TO FIRST USES. 223 



No more, my own Lord Jesus ! 185 

Not as He was, a homeless stranger 179 

Not here, not here ! not where the sparkling waters 176 

Nothing but leaves ; the spirit grieves 172 

Jesus ! friend unfailing 151 

Oh, day most calm, most bright 153 

Once slow and sad the evening fell 107 

Oh, never say that the door is shut 98 

O wonderful ! round whose birth-hour 65 

Thou ! the contrite sinner's friend 17 

Holy Saviour ! Friend unseen 35 

Oh, strong to save and bless 129 

Over the river on the hill 83 

O'er the distant mountains breaking 62 

Oh, thou ! who tossing on life's troubled ocean 208 

Poor trembling lamb, ah ! who outside the fold 79 

Poor heart, why throb thus wildly in my breast .... 155 

Peace to this House ! Thou, whose way 103 

Rest remaineth ; oh, how sweet ! 175 

Say not, 'twas all in vain ! 182 

Saviour ! by thy sweet compassion 160 

Sweet thought, my God ! that on the palms 142 

Sometimes I catch sweet glimpses of His face 123 

Since Thy Father's arm sustains thee 121 

" So will I comfort you," as when a sobbing child. . . 213 

The child leans on its parent's breast 120 

The path I trod so pleasant was, and fair 167 

The winds blow fierce across the barren wild 63 

The Shadow of the Rock 7 



224 INDEX TO FIRST LINES. 

The twilight falls, the night is near 13 

The way is long and dreary 10 

The apostle slept ; a light shone in the prison 20 

The I )seate hues of early dawn 22 

The Si nds of time are sinking 55 

The fcir is stirred with holy life 49 

The fi e behind, the deep before 53 

Two .mgels, one of Life and one of Death 135 

Two \ orlds there are, to one our eyes we strain .... 133 

Two buds plucked from the tree 142 

Two \ ays ! only two ! One leadeth 158 

To do Thy holy will ! 47 

Thou, Lord, my path shalt choose 42 

There is an unseen battle field 33 

The ^ 'orld is very evil 19 1 

Upws "d where the stars are burning 12 

Upon ihe hills the wind is sharp and cold 68 

Up, t nd away, like the dew of the morning 81 

We vait for Thee, all-glorious One ! 105 

Whet ler there many be or few '. 26 

We v'aise Thee oft for hours of bliss 93 

Who vould not go ? 25 

Weep not for her, for she hath crossed the river 97 

We s ood beside the river 29 

When my sins in aspect dread 143 

With 1 this leaf, to every eye 34 

What .-nust it be to dwell above 50 

Wait ig for Spring. The mother watching lonely . . 103 

We d\ 'ell this side of Jordan's stream 147 

Whei <^ hast been toiling all day, sweet heart ? 109 

Wildl/ falls the night around me 211 



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